TUSK

tusk

(noun) a long pointed tooth specialized for fighting or digging; especially in an elephant or walrus or hog

ivory, tusk

(noun) a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses

tusk, detusk

(verb) remove the tusks of animals; “tusk an elephant”

horn, tusk

(verb) stab or pierce with a horn or tusk; “the rhino horned the explorer”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

tusk (plural tusks)

One of a pair of elongated pointed teeth that extend outside the mouth of an animal such as walrus, elephant or wild boar.

A small projection on a (tusk) tenon.

A tusk shell.

(carpentry) A projecting member like a tenon, and serving the same or a similar purpose, but composed of several steps, or offsets, called teeth.

A sharp point.

The share of a plough.

Verb

tusk (third-person singular simple present tusks, present participle tusking, simple past and past participle tusked)

To dig up using a tusk, as boars do.

To gore with the tusks.

(obsolete) To bare or gnash the teeth.

Etymology 2

Noun

tusk (plural tusks)

A fish, the torsk (Brosme brosme).

Source: Wiktionary


Tusk, n. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Same as Torsk.

Tusk, n. Etym: [OE. tusk, the same word as tusch, AS. tusc. See Tush a tooth.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: One of the elongated incisor or canine teeth of the wild boar, elephant, etc.; hence, any long, protruding tooth.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A toothshell, or Dentalium; -- called also tusk-shell.

3. (Carp.)

Definition: A projecting member like a tenon, and serving the same or a similar purpose, but composed of several steps, or offsets. Thus, in the illustration, a is the tusk, and each of the several parts, or offsets, is called a tooth.

Tusk, v. i.

Definition: To bare or gnash the teeth. [Obs.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

coffee icon