noun
1.
(in certain animals) a tooth developed to great length, usually one of a pair, as in the elephant, walrus, and wild boar, but singly in the narwhal.
2.
a long, pointed, or protruding tooth.
3.
a projection resembling the tusk of an animal.
4.
Also called gain. Carpentry. a diagonally cut shoulder at the end of a timber for strengthening a tenon.
verb (used with object)
5.
to dig up or tear off with the tusks.
6.
to gore with a tusk.
00:10
Tusk
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| to flee; abscond: |
verb (used without object)
7.
to dig up or thrust at the ground with the tusks.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To tusk
Collins
World English Dictionary
tusk (tʌsk) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a pointed elongated usually paired tooth in the elephant, walrus, and certain other mammals that is often used for fighting |
| 2. | the canine tooth of certain animals, esp horses |
| 3. | a sharp pointed projection |
| 4. | building trades Also called: tusk tenon a tenon shaped with an additional oblique shoulder to make a stronger joint |
| —vb | |
| 5. | to stab, tear, or gore with the tusks |
| [Old English tūsc; related to Old Frisian tosk; see | |
| tusked | |
| —adj | |
| 'tusklike | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tusk
O.E. tux, tusc, cognate with O.Fris. tusk, probably from P.Gmc. *tunthskaz (cf. Goth. tunþus "tooth"), extended form of the root of tooth. But there are no certain cognates outside Anglo-Frisian.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
tusk  (tŭsk) Pronunciation Key
A long, pointed tooth, usually one of a pair, projecting from the mouth of certain animals, such as elephants, walruses, and wild pigs. Tusks are used for procuring food and as weapons. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
The interior pulp of a narwhal tusk contains a system of nerves that runs the full length of the tooth.
Several artifacts found there include human-made tools crafted on mammoth tusk fragments.
Every so often, he tested to see if the tusk was loose.
On his foot is the scar that the tusk of a boar gave him in the old days.
Nearby Words
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