tuff

noun

: a rock composed of the finer kinds of volcanic detritus usually fused together by heat
tuffaceous adjective

Examples of tuff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Limestone brick arches alternate with smooth tuff walls, some pockmarked, while others are chiseled with geometric shapes. Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2025 Instantly, the summer heat of Rome was replaced by the cold, clammy air of tunnels that, like the Labyrinth of Rome, were first carved to mine tuff. Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2025 With its tuff walls, traces of the altar, natural light and contemporary artwork, everything is arranged to strike a balance between the sacred and the everyday. Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025 Based on radiometric dating of zircon grains preserved in tuff layers interbedded between the mudstone and amber beds, the entire sedimentary succession formed around 116 and 114 million years ago. David Bressan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tuff

Word History

Etymology

earlier tuph, tuft porous rock, from Middle French tuf, from Old Italian tufo

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tuff was in 1815

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Cite this Entry

“Tuff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuff. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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