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View synonyms for trunk

trunk

[ truhngk ]

noun

  1. the main stem of a tree, as distinct from the branches and roots.
  2. a large, sturdy box or chest for holding or transporting clothes, personal effects, or other articles.
  3. a large compartment, usually in the rear of an automobile, in which luggage, a spare tire, and other articles may be kept.
  4. the body of a person or an animal excluding the head and limbs; torso.
  5. Ichthyology. the part of a fish between the head and the anus.
  6. Architecture.
    1. the shaft of a column.
    2. the dado or die of a pedestal.
  7. the main channel, artery, or line in a river, railroad, highway, canal, or other tributary system.
  8. Telephony, Telegraphy.
    1. a telephone line or channel between two central offices or switching devices that is used in providing telephone connections between subscribers generally.
    2. a telegraph line or channel between two main or central offices.
  9. Anatomy. the main body of an artery, nerve, or the like, as distinct from its branches.
  10. trunks,
    1. brief shorts, loose-fitting or tight, worn by men chiefly for boxing, swimming, and track.
    2. Obsolete. trunk hose.
  11. the long, flexible, cylindrical nasal appendage of the elephant.
  12. Nautical.
    1. a large enclosed passage through the decks or bulkheads of a vessel, for cooling, ventilation, or the like.
    2. any of various watertight casings in a vessel, as the vertical one above the slot for a centerboard in the bottom of a boat.
  13. a conduit; shaft; chute.


adjective

  1. of, relating to, or noting a main channel or line, as of a railroad or river.

trunk

/ trʌŋk /

noun

  1. the main stem of a tree, usually thick and upright, covered with bark and having branches at some distance from the ground
  2. a large strong case or box used to contain clothes and other personal effects when travelling and for storage
  3. anatomy the body excluding the head, neck, and limbs; torso
  4. the elongated prehensile nasal part of an elephant; proboscis
  5. Also calledBrit, Austral., NZ, and South Africanboot an enclosed compartment of a car for holding luggage, etc, usually at the rear
  6. anatomy the main stem of a nerve, blood vessel, etc
  7. nautical a watertight boxlike cover within a vessel with its top above the waterline, such as one used to enclose a centreboard
  8. an enclosed duct or passageway for ventilation, etc
  9. modifier of or relating to a main road, railway, etc, in a network

    a trunk line



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Derived Forms

  • ˈtrunkˌful, noun
  • ˈtrunkless, adjective

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Other Words From

  • trunkless adjective
  • subtrunk noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of trunk1

1400–50; late Middle English trunke < Latin truncus stem, trunk, stump, noun use of truncus lopped

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Word History and Origins

Origin of trunk1

C15: from Old French tronc , from Latin truncus , from truncus (adj) lopped

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Example Sentences

The company, founded as a trunk maker in 1854 and known today for its high-end handbags, has created a pro model skateboarding sneaker.

From Quartz

On the surf trip, I put shoes, flip flops, and a rain jacket in the big clamshell compartment, and used cubes for underwear and socks, swim trunks, and sun shirts and rash guards.

Cheetahs sink their claws into a tree trunk to climb, she notes.

Finding and hitting a slim stem or trunk with a tiny patch clearly poses a challenge.

As the pudgy, short-legged bear climbs, it presses its head briefly against the tree trunk again and again.

In December, he did his first trunk shows in Paris and New York.

A declaration of candidacy signed by Cuomo was in the trunk of his car.

“I was a little nervous every time I took the camera out [of the trunk] that it would take me over,” he says.

The brainchild of a company called Sologic, the eTree looks like a basic tree with a wooden trunk.

The Queen sent her first email at an RAF base in 1976 and she made the first direct-dial trunk call from the UK in 1958.

A few moments afterward he was seen dragging his own trunk ashore, while Mr. Hitchcock finished his story on the boiler deck.

Robert assisted her into the hammock which swung from the post before her door out to the trunk of a tree.

Vunce I seen a feller–I hat some snakes here in algohol–unt dat feller he trunk de algohol.

Indeed a child will sometimes complete the drawing by adding feet and hands before he troubles to bring in the trunk (see Fig. 8).

The arms, too, not uncommonly are spread out from the two sides of the trunk just as in the front view.

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trundletailtrunk cabin