tusk
1 of 2noun
ˈtəsk 
1
: an elongated greatly enlarged tooth (as of an elephant or walrus) that projects when the mouth is closed and serves especially for digging food or as a weapon
broadly : a long protruding tooth
2
: one of the small projections on a tusk tenon
tusked
ˈtəskt
adjective tusklike
ˈtəsk-ˌlīk
adjective tusk
2 of 2verb
tusked; tusking; tusks
transitive verb
: to dig up with a tusk
also : to gash with a tusk
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 The exhibit features a cast of a narwhal tusk, with height measurements displayed on the wall alongside it. Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 The narwhal's most famous feature – that incredibly large tusk – is actually a tooth. Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 Hidden in the tusk of a 34-year-old mastodon was a record of time and space that cracked the mystery of his life. Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, 22 June 2022 Tuskless mothers, on the other hand, had about an equal proportion of daughters with or without tusks (or, in some cases, with a single tusk). Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 21 Oct. 2021 Fisher cut a long, thin section from the center of the 9.5-foot-long (3-meter-long) right tusk. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 June 2022 For example, the sudden inclusion of an uncommon walrus tusk carved in the three-dimensional Nunivak Island style would have otherwise been unlikely, according to Demma. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Apr. 2022 Sampling along the entire tusk like this provides a record of the mammoth’s entire life. Sara Harrison, Wired, 12 Aug. 2021 Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 See More
Noun
And that’s how the narwhal got its tusk, Atencio said. Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 The exhibit features a cast of a narwhal tusk, with height measurements displayed on the wall alongside it. Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 The narwhal's most famous feature – that incredibly large tusk – is actually a tooth. Meghan Willcoxon, Journal Sentinel, 11 July 2022 Hidden in the tusk of a 34-year-old mastodon was a record of time and space that cracked the mystery of his life. Peter Brannen, The Atlantic, 22 June 2022 Tuskless mothers, on the other hand, had about an equal proportion of daughters with or without tusks (or, in some cases, with a single tusk). Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 21 Oct. 2021 Fisher cut a long, thin section from the center of the 9.5-foot-long (3-meter-long) right tusk. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 13 June 2022 For example, the sudden inclusion of an uncommon walrus tusk carved in the three-dimensional Nunivak Island style would have otherwise been unlikely, according to Demma. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Apr. 2022 Sampling along the entire tusk like this provides a record of the mammoth’s entire life. Sara Harrison, Wired, 12 Aug. 2021 Verb
Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 Sulawesi is home to species found nowhere else, including vibrant hornbills, miniature water buffalo, tusked deer-pigs and some tarsiers, a small, nocturnal primate. Ian Morse, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, alteration of tux, from Old English tūx; akin to Old English tūsc tush
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1629, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing tusk
Kids Definition
tusk
noun
ˈtəsk
: a very long large tooth (as of an elephant or walrus) that sticks out when the mouth is closed and is used especially in digging and fighting
Medical Definition
tusk
noun
ˈtəsk
: an elongated greatly enlarged tooth that projects when the mouth is closed and serves for digging food or as a weapon
broadly : a long protruding tooth