nut

¹

[ nuht ]

noun

1. a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.
2. the kernel itself.
3. Botany. a hard, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, as the chestnut or the acorn.
4. any of various devices or ornaments resembling a nut.
5. a block, usually of metal and generally square or hexagonal, perforated with a threaded hole so that it can be screwed down on a bolt to hold together objects through which the bolt passes.
6. Slang. the head.
7. Slang.
   1. a person who is very enthusiastic about something; buff; enthusiast; devotee:

      He's a real circus nut.

   2. an extremely concerned or zealous person:

      My boss is a nut on double-checking everything.

8. Slang.
   1. a foolish, silly, or eccentric person.
   2. an insane person; psychotic.
9. Slang: Vulgar. a testis.
10. Informal.
    1. the operating expenses, usually figured weekly, of a theatrical production or other commercial enterprise; a break-even point.
    2. the total cost of producing a theatrical production or of forming and opening any new business venture.
11. Music. (in instruments of the violin family)
    1. the ledge, as of ebony, at the upper end of the fingerboard, over which the strings pass.
    2. the movable piece at the lower end of the bow, by means of which the hairs may be slackened or tightened.
12. Printing. en ( def 2 ).

verb (used without object)

, nut·ted, nut·ting.

1. to seek for or gather nuts:

   to go nutting in late autumn.

Nut

²

[ noot ]

noun

, Egyptian Religion.

1. the goddess of the sky, sometimes shown as a cow bearing Ra on her back and the stars on her underside.

N.U.T.

³

abbreviation for

, British.

1. National Union of Teachers.

NUT

¹

abbreviation for

1. National Union of Teachers

nut

²

/ nʌt /

noun

1. a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit that usually possesses a woody wall
2. not in technical use any similar fruit, such as the walnut, having a hard shell and an edible kernel
3. the edible kernel of such a fruit
4. slang.
   1. an eccentric person
   2. a person who is mentally disturbed
5. a slang word for head
6. do one's nut slang.
   to be extremely angry; go into a rage
7. off one's nut slang.
   mad, crazy, or foolish
8. a person or thing that presents difficulties (esp in the phrase a tough or hard nut to crack )
9. a small square or hexagonal block, usu. metal, with a threaded hole through the middle for screwing on the end of a bolt
10. mountaineering a variously shaped small metal block, usually a wedge or hexagonal prism (originally an ordinary engineer's nut) with a wire or rope loop attached, for jamming into a crack to provide security Also calledchock
11. Also called (US and Canadian)frog music
    1. the ledge or ridge at the upper end of the fingerboard of a violin, cello, etc, over which the strings pass to the tuning pegs
    2. the end of a violin bow that is held by the player
12. printing another word for en
13. a small usually gingery biscuit
14. a small piece of coal

verb

1. intr to gather nuts
2. slang.
   tr to butt (someone) with the head

nut

/ nŭt /

1. A dry, indehiscent simple fruit consisting of one seed surrounded by a hard and thick pericarp (fruit wall). The seed does not adhere to the pericarp but is connected to it by the funiculus. A nut is similar to an achene but larger. Acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts are true nuts. Informally, other edible seeds or dry fruits enclosed in a hard or leathery shell are also called nuts, though they are not true nuts. For instance, an almond kernel is actually the seed of a drupe. Its familiar whitish shell is an endocarp found within the greenish fruit of the almond tree. Peanuts are actually individual seeds from a seed pod called a legume.

Derived Forms

• ˈnutˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• nutlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nut¹

before 900; 1900–05 nut fordef 8b; Middle English nute, Old English hnutu; cognate with Dutch noot, German Nuss, Old Norse hnot; akin to Latin nux

Word History and Origins

Origin of nut¹

Old English hnutu; related to Old Norse hnot, Old High German hnuz (German Nuss )

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hard nut to crack, Also tough nut to crack.
   1. a problem difficult to solve; a formidable undertaking.
   2. a person difficult to know, understand, or convince.
2. off one's nut, Slang.
   1. Sometimes Offensive. foolish, silly, or insane.
   2. confused; unreasonable.
   3. mistaken or wrong:

      You're off your nut if you think such a plan can succeed.

3. from soup to nuts. soup ( def 7 ).

More idioms and phrases containing nut

• drive someone crazy (nuts)
• from soup to nuts
• hard nut to crack

Example Sentences

Under natural conditions—say, birds or squirrels taking a nut from one tree and dropping it nearby—you would expect closely grouped trees to be closely related.

From Science Magazine

A linguistic analysis in the new study also suggests the Nisga’a/Gitxsan ancestors in the north may have borrowed the word for hazelnut from Salishan ancestors in the south as they were introduced to the nut through trade, at least 7000 years ago.

From Science Magazine

But it was Sherman who gave a twitchy, hilarious performance as the widow of late internet celebrity P’Nut the Squirrel.

From Los Angeles Times

Cassidy couldn’t even say: “This guy’s a nut, and I’m voting no”!

From Slate

Most of the pistachios will be sent to China, where the crop is dubbed the “happy nut” and commonly eaten during Lunar New Year.

From Salon

Related Words

• kernel