The tusks of an elephant, wild boar, or walrus are its two very long, curved, pointed teeth.
tusk in British English
(tʌsk)
noun
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. Also called: tusk tenon building
a tenon shaped with an additional oblique shoulder to make a stronger joint
verb
5.
to stab, tear, or gore with the tusks
Derived forms
tusked
adjective
tusklike (ˈtuskˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
Old English tūsc; related to Old Frisian tosk; see tooth
Tusk in British English
(tuːsk)
noun
Donald. born 1957, Polish politician; prime minister of Poland (2007–14); president of the European Council (2014–19)
tusk in American English
(tʌsk)
noun
1.
in elephants, wild boars, walruses, etc., a very long, large, pointed tooth, usuallyone of a pair, projecting outside the mouth and used for defense, digging up food, etc.
2.
any tooth or projection suggestive of a tusk
verb transitive
3.
to dig, gore, etc. with a tusk or tusks
SIMILAR WORDS: tooth
Derived forms
tusked (tʌskt)
adjective
tusklike (ˈtuskˌlike) (ˈtʌskˌlaɪk)
adjective
Word origin
ME, by metathesis < OE tucs, akin to OFris tusk < PGmc *tunth-ska < *tunth-, *tanth-: see tooth
Examples of 'tusk' in a sentence
tusk
Zimbabwe and Namibia are pressing for the global ban on ivory trading to be lifted to allow them to sell stockpiles of tusks to fund conservation.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The big ones with the tusks and the trunks are surely elephants.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
And the poachers were carrying at least two heavy tusks.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The bucks have small tusks and antlers.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It snarled then charged at him twice with its sharp tusks.
The Sun (2009)
Killing an elephant for its tusks is bad and wrong.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Ivory traders are smuggling tusks and carved artefacts in and out of the country using eBay.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The bucks have short antlers that point backwards, and small tusks that are in fact protruding teeth.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Other reports suggest that some Chinese ivory traders dodge export controls by passing off illegal elephant tusks as mammoth ivory.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Their tusks are smaller and straighter, which makes them better adapted to fitting between trees and moving through the forest.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The does have smaller tusks.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The elephant was for centuries the most sought-after of these animals because of the two tusks that curve down from its upper jaw.
Cameron, Kenneth M Into Africa - a social history of the East African Safari (1989)
Killing elephants on a large scale and smuggling their tusks long distances is expensive, made worthwhile by the high price for ivory.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
MORE than five tons of smuggled elephant tusks worth 6.5million have been destroyed.
The Sun (2013)
THOUSANDS of elephant tusks go up in flames yesterday in a message to ivory smugglers that their cruel and illegal trade will be stopped.
The Sun (2016)
It probably lacked the long hair, looking more like a modern elephant, but was more imposing with longer tusks and a higher head.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
tusk
British English: tusk NOUN
The tusks of an elephant, wild boar, or walrus are its two very long, curved, pointed teeth.