enough */*/*/

UK [ɪˈnʌf] / US adverb, determiner, pronoun

Summary:

Enough can be used in the following ways: - as a determiner (followed by a plural or uncountable noun): There isn't enough time. ♦ Have I made enough sandwiches? - as a pronoun: I've only got £12 – will that be enough? (followed by "of"): I read enough of the article to get the main idea. - as an adverb (after an adjective, adverb, or verb): The rope isn't long enough. ♦ She didn't move quickly enough. ♦ You haven't practised enough.
Enough is sometimes used after particular nouns, but this is not common: Don't ask questions – there'll be time enough for that later. ♦ He had reason enough to be angry (=he had a good reason to be angry). ♦ I was fool enough to trust her (=it was foolish of me to trust her).

1)

a) used for saying that an amount is as much as you need, or that a number of people or things are as many as you need

He doesn't have enough experience as a classroom teacher.

"Would you like something more to eat?" "No thanks, I've had enough."

enough of:

There aren't enough of us to make up a team.

enough for:

Do we have enough knives and forks for everyone?

enough to do something:

Some of the workers don't earn enough to live on.

They have enough uranium to build more than 30,000 bombs.

enough for someone/something to do something:

There wasn't enough room for us to stretch our legs out.

more than enough (= more than is needed):

You've had more than enough time to finish the job.

not nearly enough (= much less than is needed):

Not nearly enough has been done to provide training for new staff.

b) used for saying that someone or something is as good, big, fast etc as necessary, or does something as much as is necessary

The teachers aren't strict enough.

He wants to join the army when he's old enough.

He told me I hadn't been working hard enough.

Sure, things have improved, but they haven't improved enough.

enough for:

The software isn't good enough for professional use.

enough to do something:

Three days later Thorpe was well enough to leave hospital.

Not even her roommate had cared enough to warn her.

enough for someone/something to do something:

The road is barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other.

2) spoken used for saying that you do not want to experience any more of something because it is annoying or boring

I've only been to one of her lectures, and that was quite enough for me!

enough of:

I wish you'd stop criticizing – I get enough of that from Harry.

have had enough of something:

I'm leaving. I've had enough of all this nonsense!

3) used after an adjective or adverb for emphasis

nice/common/natural/soon etc enough:

Of course she's upset. It's natural enough, after the way she's been treated.

You'll meet the rest of the team soon enough.

•

be unfortunate/unlucky/unwise/stupid etc enough to do something — used after adjectives that mean "stupid" or "not lucky" for saying that someone does something stupid or that something bad happens to them

Surely the government wouldn't be foolish enough to ignore public opinion.

They had been unfortunate enough to become infected with the virus.

it's bad/difficult/hard enough — used when saying that a situation is already bad and something else would make it even worse

It's bad enough that you were late, without lying about the reason.

as if something wasn't bad enough:

The police were completely unhelpful and, as if that wasn't bad enough, they accused me of wasting their time.

strangely/oddly enough — used for showing that you think a particular fact is strange or surprising

that's (quite) enough — spoken used for telling someone to stop behaving badly

That's quite enough! I don't want any more rude remarks from you two.

- can't get enough of something

- enough already

- enough is enough

See:

funnily