get tough on

idiomatic phrase

: to deal harshly with
Greece promised last week to get tough on tax evasion …Alan Clendenning
Environmental groups and health agencies such as the American Lung Association have pushed lawmakers to get tough on polluters and enact stricter smog limits …Melissa Knopper
"… For a long time in the United States, the politics around law and order have been, get tough on crime. … "Paul Butler

Examples of get tough on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The rhetoric coming from the White House was less hostile, but getting tough on China had become a political necessity for whoever was president, and the trade war only intensified. Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024 The incoming administration has promised to get tough on border security, including continuing to build the border wall which was only partially completed during Donald Trump's previous administration. Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024 Relations with China Legislators agree on the need to get tougher on China to counter its growing economic, scientific, and military clout. Byjeffrey Mervis, science.org, 12 Nov. 2024 And although there may be bipartisan support in Washington for getting tough on China, polling makes clear that there is no such consensus over whether the United States should risk the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. troops to defend Taiwan. Jessica Chen Weiss, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2022 See all Example Sentences for get tough on 

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of get tough on was in 1945

Dictionary Entries Near get tough on

Cite this Entry

“Get tough on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20tough%20on. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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