| 1. | a small, often hard, abnormal elevation on the skin, usually caused by a papomavirus. |
| 2. | any small protuberance, as on the surface of certain plants, the skin of certain animals, etc. |
| 3. | any unattractive detrimental feature or aspect: The biography presents the full story of the prime minister's political career, warts and all. |
| 4. | venereal wart. |

wart
|
wart (wôrt)
n.
A hard, rough lump that grows on the skin and is caused by infection with certain viruses; it typically occurs on the hands or feet. Also called verruca, verruga.
wart (wôrt) Pronunciation Key
|
wart
A small, crocky feature that sticks out of an otherwise clean design. Something conspicuous for localised ugliness, especially a special-case exception to a general rule. For example, in some versions of "csh(1)", single quotes literalise every character inside them except "!". In ANSI C, the "?" syntax used for obtaining ASCII characters in a foreign environment is a wart. See also miswart.
[The Jargon File]