Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search



From Latin rōbustus, from rōbur, rōbus (strength", "hard timber", "oak).


robust (comparative robuster, superlative robustest)

  1. Evincing strength; indicating vigorous health; strong; sinewy; muscular; vigorous; sound; as, a robust body; robust youth; robust health.
    He was a robust man of six feet four.
    • Anthony Trollope (1815-1882)
      She was stronger, larger, more robust physically than he had hitherto conceived.
  2. Violent; rough; rude.
    • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:
      As a frenetic opening continued, Cahill - whose robust approach had already prompted Jamie Carragher to register his displeasure to Atkinson - rose above the Liverpool defence to force keeper Pepe Reina into an athletic tip over the top.
  3. Requiring strength or vigor; as, robust employment.
  4. Sensible (of intellect etc.); straightforward, not given to or confused by uncertainty or subtlety;
  5. (systems engineering) Designed or evolved in such a way as to be resistant to total failure despite partial damage.
  6. (software engineering) Resistant or impervious to failure regardless of user input or unexpected conditions.
  7. (statistics) Not greatly influenced by errors in assumptions about the distribution of sample errors.

Usage notes[edit]

  • "More" and "most robust" are much more common than the forms ending in "-er" or "-est".

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]







  1. robust

Derived terms[edit]

External links[edit]