robust

Everyday

1. Strong and healthy: a robust child. tree →
2. Strongly made, not easy to break: a robust bike. tree →
3. Able to keep working well in many conditions: a robust plan. tree →
4. (of food or wine) Strong and full in flavour. tree →

In the lessons

In design and technology a robust model or structure survives tests and knocks. In science and maths a robust method still works when data are messy. In everyday talk a robust person is sturdy and rarely ill.

Examples

• This robust lunchbox won't crack if you drop it. tree →
• The bridge is a robust design. tree →
• Grandad is still robust and walks every day. tree →
• We need a robust plan in case it rains. tree →
• The soup had a robust flavour. tree →
• A robust test works even with a few mistakes in the data. tree →
• The lamp had first been hung up on that very evening that the watchman, then a robust young man, had entered upon the duties of his office. tree →

Note

Opposite: fragile, weak, delicate. Noun: robustness. Stress: roh-BUST (UK and US).