(in certain animals) a tooth developed to great length, usually one of a pair, as in the elephant, walrus, and wild boar, but singly in the narwhal.
2.
a long, pointed, or protruding tooth.
3.
a projection resembling the tusk of an animal.
4.
Also called gain. Carpentry. a diagonally cut shoulder at the end of a timber for strengthening a tenon.
verb (used with object)
5.
to dig up or tear off with the tusks.
6.
to gore with a tusk.
verb (used without object)
7.
to dig up or thrust at the ground with the tusks.
Origin
before 900;Middle English, metathetic variant of tux,Old English, variant of tusctush2; cognate with Old Frisiantusk; akin to tooth
Related forms
tuskless, adjective
tusklike, adjective
untusked, adjective
Examples from the web for tusk
The interior pulp of a narwhal tusk contains a system of nerves that runs the full length of the tooth.
Each tusk bears a distinctive carved band, twining from base to tip and connecting scenes and characters.
Prehistoric humans painted images of the animals on cave walls and carved their likeness in fragments of mammoth tusk.
The narwhal's single, spiral tusk has always been a mystery.
On his foot is the scar that the tusk of a boar gave him in the old days.
But before he could strike him, the boar charged, ripping deep into his flesh with his tusk.
Every so often, he tested to see if the tusk was loose.
Some ornaments are striking: a bracelet made of hippo bone and another of ostrich and warthog-tusk beads.
But this tusk hunter probably had to do a little digging.
Take a look at the narwhal's mysterious tusk in this video.
British Dictionary definitions for tusk
tusk
/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.
(building trades) Also called tusk tenon. 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, adjective
Word Origin
Old English tūsc; related to Old Frisian tosk; see tooth
Word Origin and History for tusk
n.
Old English tux, tusc, cognate with Old Frisian tusk, probably from Proto-Germanic *tunthskaz (cf. Gothic tunþus "tooth"), extended form of the root of tooth. But there are no certain cognates outside Anglo-Frisian.
tusk in Science
tusk
(tŭsk) A long, pointed tooth, usually one of a pair, projecting from the mouth of certain animals, such as elephants, walruses, and wild pigs. Tusks are used for procuring food and as weapons.