callus

[ kal-uhs ]
See synonyms for callus on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural cal·lus·es.
  1. Pathology, Physiology.

    • a hardened or thickened part of the skin; a callosity.

    • a new growth of osseous matter at the ends of a fractured bone, serving to unite them.

  2. Also callose. Botany.

    • the tissue that forms over the wounds of plants, protecting the inner tissues and causing healing.

    • a deposit on the perforated area of a sieve tube.

    • (in grasses) a tough swelling at the base of a lemma or palea.

verb (used without object),cal·lused, cal·lus·ing.
  1. to form a callus.

verb (used with object),cal·lused, cal·lus·ing.
  1. to produce a callus or calluses on: Heavy work callused his hands.

Origin of callus

1
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin callus, masculine variant of callum “tough skin, any hard substance”;see callous

Other words from callus

  • un·cal·lused, adjective

Words that may be confused with callus

Words Nearby callus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use callus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for callus

callus

/ (ˈkæləs) /


nounplural -luses
  1. Also called: callosity an area of skin that is hard or thick, esp on the palm of the hand or sole of the foot, as from continual friction or pressure

  2. an area of bony tissue formed during the healing of a fractured bone

  1. botany

    • a mass of hard protective tissue produced in woody plants at the site of an injury

    • an accumulation of callose in the sieve tubes

  2. biotechnology a mass of undifferentiated cells produced as the first stage in tissue culture

verb
  1. to produce or cause to produce a callus

Origin of callus

1
C16: from Latin, variant of callum hardened skin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for callus

callus

[ kăləs ]


  1. An area of the skin that has become hardened and thick, usually because of prolonged pressure or rubbing.

  2. The hard bony tissue that develops around the ends of a fractured bone during healing.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.