The trunk of a tree is the large main stem from which the branches grow.
...the gnarled trunk of a birch tree. [+ of]
...toadstools growing on fallen tree trunks.
Synonyms: stem, stock, stalk, bole More Synonyms of trunk
2. countable noun
A trunk is a large, strong case or box used for storing things or for taking on a journey.
3. countable noun [usually with poss]
An elephant's trunk is its very long nose that it uses to lift food and water to its mouth.
4. countable noun
The trunk of a car is a covered space at the back or front in which you put luggage or other things.
[US]regional note: in BRIT, use boot
5. plural noun
Trunks are shorts that a man wears when he goes swimming.
I wear these trunks because they have a streamline effect in the water.
6. countable noun [usually singular]
Your trunk is the central part of your body, from your neck to your waist.
[formal]
More Synonyms of trunk
trunk in British English
(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 called (Brit, Austral, NZ and South African): boot US and Canadian
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
Derived forms
trunkful (ˈtrunkˌful)
noun
trunkless (ˈtrunkless)
adjective
Word origin
C15: from Old French tronc, from Latin truncus, from truncus (adj) lopped
trunk in American English
(trʌŋk)
noun
1.
the main stem of a tree
2.
the body of a human being or animal, not including the head and limbs
3.
the thorax of an insect
4.
the main body or stem of a nerve, blood vessel, etc., as distinguished from its branches
5.
a long, flexible snout or proboscis, as of an elephant
6.
a large, reinforced box or chest, used in traveling or for storage, as to hold clothing and personal effects
7.
a large, long, boxlike pipe, shaft, etc. for conveying air, water, etc.
8. [pl.]
trunk hose
9. US; [pl.]
shorts worn by men for athletics, esp. for boxing or swimming
10. US
trunk line
11. US
a compartment in an automobile, usually in the rear, for holding a spare tire, luggage, etc.
12. Architecture
the shaft of a column
13. Nautical
a.
the part of a cabin above the upper deck
b.
a boxlike or funnel-like casing, as for a centerboard or for connecting upper and lower hatches
Word origin
ME tronke < OFr tronc < L truncus, a stem, trunk < truncus, maimed, mutilated < IE *tronkus < base *trenk-, to press together, crowd > throng
trunk in Automotive Engineering
(trʌŋk)
Word forms: (regular plural) trunks
noun
(Automotive engineering: Vehicle components, Bodywork, controls, and accessories)
The trunk of a car is a covered space at the back or front in which you put luggage or otherthings.
COLLOCATIONS: open the ~shut the ~
She put the luggage in the trunk of the car.
Trunk space is generous and the fold-down rear seats provide additional cargo capacity.
The trunk is huge and easy to reach into, unlike many bigger cars' trunks that seem roomy untilyou try to put things into them.
Examples of 'trunk' in a sentence
trunk
Push short lengths of candy cane into the base of the triangles to make tree trunks.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He was barefoot and wearing only his swimming trunks when he realised he had been left behind.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Police said that the migrants had been preparing to place tree trunks and other obstacles in the road to halt traffic.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is a short masterclass on how to jump from branch to branch and then another on how to vault a tree trunk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
When her neighbour's house was flattened in airstrikes she fled again and now lives in makeshift tents sculpted out of tree trunks and beige canvases.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For what can one possibly say to a man in a pair of swimming trunks like that?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The trouble was that the main trunks looked fairly rotten.
Stewart, Bob (Lt-Col) Broken Lives (1993)
It may be that suckers will replace the old trunk anyway.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The big ones with the tusks and the trunks are surely elephants.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The shawl was in a box in her trunk.
LM Montgomery Anne of Green Gables (1872)
The larger trunk has split into three or four parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Wants to wear trunks on the beach this summer.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We used to take a trunk full of clothes that were just thrown in together.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Football shorts have got longer while swimming trunks keep shrinking.
The Sun (2016)
An old tree trunk is useful as an improvised chopping block.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It would mean the trunk roads would be leased to companies that would be responsible for their upkeep.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Look for the strongest side twig near to the top and cut through the main trunk just above it.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You tend to notice it when the bark begins to flake off a branch or the trunk of the tree.
The Sun (2015)
Swimming trunks in middle age are men's wedding dresses.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He afterward went into another small room, where he found sundry small trunks and cases locked up.
Frederick Marryat The Children of the New Forest (1847)
I was getting something out of the trunk of my car and the exhaust was in the middle.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I made four-poster beds out of tree trunks, silver birch.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Got put in the trunk of his car with handcuffs and that time I didn't know where that trunk was going to open up.
Stanko, Elizabeth Everyday Violence (1990)
Word lists with
trunk
box
In other languages
trunk
British English: trunk /trʌŋk/ NOUN
tree A trunk is the thick stem of a tree. The branches and roots grow from the trunk.
American English: trunk
Arabic: جِذْع
Brazilian Portuguese: tronco árvore
Chinese: 树干
Croatian: deblo
Czech: kmen stromu
Danish: kuffert
Dutch: boomstam
European Spanish: tronco Anatomía
Finnish: puunrunko
French: tronc
German: Baumstamm
Greek: κορμός δέντρο
Italian: tronco
Japanese: 幹
Korean: 나무 줄기
Norwegian: (tre)stamme
Polish: pień
European Portuguese: tronco árvore
Romanian: tulpină
Russian: ствол
Latin American Spanish: tronco
Swedish: koffert
Thai: ลำต้น
Turkish: ağaç gövdesi
Ukrainian: стовбур
Vietnamese: thân cây
British English: trunk /trʌŋk/ NOUN
elephant An elephant's trunk is its long nose. Elephants use their trunks to suck up water and to lift things.
American English: trunk
Arabic: خُرْطُومُ الفِيل
Brazilian Portuguese: tromba
Chinese: 象鼻
Croatian: surla
Czech: chobot
Danish: snabel
Dutch: slurf
European Spanish: trompa
Finnish: kärsä
French: trompeéléphant
German: Rüssel
Greek: προβοσκίδα
Italian: proboscide
Japanese: 鼻
Korean: 코
Norwegian: snabel
Polish: trąba
European Portuguese: tromba
Romanian: trompă
Russian: хобот
Latin American Spanish: trompa
Swedish: snabel
Thai: งวง
Turkish: hortum
Ukrainian: хобот
Vietnamese: vòi
British English: trunk /trʌŋk/ NOUN
box A trunk is a large, strong box that you use to keep things in.
American English: trunk
Arabic: صُنْدُوق
Brazilian Portuguese: baú
Chinese: 大箱
Croatian: kovčeg
Czech: bedna
Danish: kiste
Dutch: koffer
European Spanish: baúl
Finnish: kirstu
French: coffre
German: Kasten
Greek: μπαούλο
Italian: baule
Japanese: トランク
Korean: 트렁크
Norwegian: koffert
Polish: kufer
European Portuguese: baú
Romanian: cufăr
Russian: сундук
Latin American Spanish: baúl
Swedish: trunk
Thai: หีบใส่ของ
Turkish: sandık
Ukrainian: валіза
Vietnamese: rương
All related terms of 'trunk'
cabin trunk
a large trunk specially designed to be used on journeys , and often having large handles at either end to make it easy to move
tree trunk
A tree trunk is the wide central part of a tree, from which the branches grow .
trunk cabin
a long relatively low cabin above the deck of a yacht
trunk call
a long-distance telephone call
trunk curl
another term for sit-up
trunk hose
a man's puffed-out breeches reaching to the thighs and worn with tights in the 16th century
trunk line
a direct link between two telephone exchanges or switchboards that are a considerable distance apart
trunk road
A trunk road is a major road that has been specially built for travelling long distances . A trunk road is not as wide or as fast as a motorway .
steamer trunk
a broad , low, rectangular trunk , originally designed to fit under a bunk on shipboard
Saratoga trunk
a large travelling trunk with a rounded top
wardrobe trunk
a large upright rectangular travelling case, usually opening longitudinally, with one side having a hanging rail , the other having drawers or compartments
subscriber trunk dialling
a service by which telephone subscribers can obtain trunk calls by dialling direct without the aid of an operator
abdominal crunch
to raise (oneself or another) from a recumbent to an upright or alert sitting posture
sit up
If you sit up , you move into a sitting position when you have been leaning back or lying down.
direct distance dialing
a service by which telephone subscribers can obtain long-distance calls by dialling direct without the aid of an operator