rhizoverbBeta
DictionarytuskProjecting tooth
noun / verb

tusk

TUSK/tʌsk/

A long projecting animal tooth, or using it to strike, pierce, or dig.

The walrus has two long tusks beneath its whiskered muzzle.

Close three-quarter view of an adult walrus's head and upper chest, emphasizing its two long ivory tusks projecting downward from the upper jaw beneath its whiskered muzzle.
Etymology
tuskOld Englishprojecting animal tooth

Old English tusc already referred to the projecting tooth of an animal. The meaning has remained stable, while its more distant ancestry is uncertain.

In context

Wild Life Documentary19:10
They can even sense small fish in total darkness. Male narwhals and a few females have a unique spiraled tusk that can be up to 3 m long.
Exploring the Arctic Ocean as the Ice Disappears | Under Thin Ice | Full Documentary

More examples

  • The boar tusked the ground while searching for food.
  • An elephant used its tusk to strip bark from a tree.
  • The damaged tusk curved outward from the animal's jaw.

Forms

tusk · tusks · tusked · tusking

Similar words

fang
A fang is a pointed biting tooth; a tusk is an elongated tooth projecting outside the mouth.
horn
A horn is not a tooth; a tusk is.