Word
tusk
US/ˈtəsk/
UK/tˈʌsk/
Definitions
01animal tooth
n. one of the two very long, pointed teeth that grow out of the mouth of animals like elephants, walruses, or wild boars.
n. an elongated, protruding tooth—typically a canine or incisor—found in certain mammals and used for digging, fighting, or display.
“The elephant used its long tusks to strip the bark off the trees.”
“Poachers continue to threaten elephant populations because of the high black-market value of the ivory found in their tusks.”
Usage
Usually used in the plural since these teeth typically grow in pairs.
02to gore or dig
v. to hit or dig into something using tusks.
v. to gore with the tusks or to dig up soil using them, as observed in the behavior of wild boars.
“The angry boar managed to tusk the side of the wooden fence.”
“The ground was heavily disturbed where the boars had tusked the earth in search of edible roots and tubers.”
Literary
Usage
This verb is often used transitively, taking a direct object.
Teaching tip
This verbal use is rare in modern conversation; students will mostly encounter it in nature documentaries or older literature.
Real-World Examples
“Narwhals have nature's only straight tusk, which grows through their upper lip.” “They looked nothing like tusks at all, being in the wrong spot and shape for actual tusks of a dicynodont or otherwise.” Etymology
From Middle English tusk (also tux, tusch), from Old English tūx, tūsc (“canine tooth, tusk, molar”), from Proto-West Germanic tų̄sk, tunsk, from Proto-Germanic tunþskaz (“canine tooth”), extended form of tanþs (“tooth”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃dónts (“tooth”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tusk (“tooth”), West Frisian tosk (“tooth”), Icelandic toskur (“a tusk, tooth”) (whence the Old Norse and Icelandic Ratatoskr and Ratatoskur respectively), Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌸𐌿𐍃 (tunþus, “tooth”) and 𐍄𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (*tundi, “thorn, tooth”). Doublet of tush. More at tooth.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/tusk