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; tusking; tusks
: to dig up with a tusk
also
: to gash with a tusk
Examples of tusk in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Animal trophies can be the entire hunted animal, or any part of it, like the head, skin, or tusk, kept as a souvenir.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
Avery, in the guise of Bridgeman, pretended his ship was a slaver bending the rules as so many did, trafficking enslaved Africans and elephant tusks without the seal of approval from the Royal African Company, which owned the British crown’s monopoly over the trade.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
These mythical-looking sea creatures, famous for their spiralled tusks, spend summers in mostly ice-free coastal areas before migrating south into deeper Arctic waters.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 12 Feb. 2024
The tusk — around seven feet long and 120 pounds, Straley estimated — was an impressive find on its own.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
Rhino populations in Kenya have been threatened for decades due to poaching and trade of rhino tusks, which contain keratin.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 28 Mar. 2024
Using a variety of materials—including wood, bronze, animal bones and the ivory tusk of an African warthog—the team created replicas of the Hohle Fels baton and tried their hand at using them for rope-making.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Craig’s gargantuan tusks swooped low, and his hide seemed to glow with a rich reddish dust that set him apart from the other males trooping nearby.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2024
Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023
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
Noun
Elephant Isolated in Captivity for 35 Years Makes Friends Instantly at New Sanctuary Home
First Coast reported that the zoo donated Ali's tusk to the Smithsonian for research and preservation.
—Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Animal trophies can be the entire hunted animal, or any part of it, like the head, skin, or tusk, kept as a souvenir.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
Avery, in the guise of Bridgeman, pretended his ship was a slaver bending the rules as so many did, trafficking enslaved Africans and elephant tusks without the seal of approval from the Royal African Company, which owned the British crown’s monopoly over the trade.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
These mythical-looking sea creatures, famous for their spiralled tusks, spend summers in mostly ice-free coastal areas before migrating south into deeper Arctic waters.
—Angela Dewan, CNN, 12 Feb. 2024
The tusk — around seven feet long and 120 pounds, Straley estimated — was an impressive find on its own.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
Rhino populations in Kenya have been threatened for decades due to poaching and trade of rhino tusks, which contain keratin.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 28 Mar. 2024
Using a variety of materials—including wood, bronze, animal bones and the ivory tusk of an African warthog—the team created replicas of the Hohle Fels baton and tried their hand at using them for rope-making.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
Craig’s gargantuan tusks swooped low, and his hide seemed to glow with a rich reddish dust that set him apart from the other males trooping nearby.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2024
Verb
But those aren't even the loudest sounds that are associated with the big, tusked beasts.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tusk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Tusk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tusk. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
tusk
noun
: 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
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