NUT


Meaning of NUT in English

I. ˈnət, usu -əd.+V noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English nute, note, from Old English hnutu; akin to Old High German nuz, hnuz nut, Old Norse hnot, Middle Irish cnū, Latin nuc-, nux

1.

a.

(1) : a hard-shelled dry fruit or seed having a more or less distinct separable rind or shell and interior kernel or meat — used to include various forms (as peanuts and Brazil nuts) not botanically true nuts

(2) : the kernel of a nut

b. : a dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit (as an acorn, hazelnut, or chestnut) with a woody pericarp developing from an inferior syncarpous ovary — see fruit illustration

2. : something resembling a nut in the difficulty it represents: as

a. : a problem to be solved — often used with to crack

communications were a tough nut — John Dos Passos

many hard nuts to crack in developing satisfactory processes — J.P.Baxter b. 1893

b. : an undertaking to be shouldered — usually used with to crack

climbed the lower slopes but the summit proved too hard a nut to crack

c. : a person to be conciliated

tried to convince him but he was a tough old nut

3. : a perforated block that is usually a small piece of metal of square or hexagonal section, that has an internal screw thread, and that is used on a bolt or screw for tightening or holding something or for transmitting motion

4. : a projection on the shank of an anchor to secure the stock in place

5.

a. : the ridge in a stringed musical instrument over which the strings pass on the upper end of the fingerboard nearest the head and pegbox

b. : the movable piece at the lower end of a bow (as a violin bow) by which the hairs may be tightened

6. nuts plural

a. slang : a source of joy and pleasure : delight — usually used with the

they thought this one was the nuts when they built it — Calder Willingham

it's the nuts — you can splash around all you want to — Better Homes & Gardens

b. : nonsense — often used interjectionally to express disapproval or annoyance; sometimes considered vulgar

nuts to you and your friends

c. : testes — usually considered vulgar

7. slang : a person's head

you get this in your nut — Richard Llewellyn

should think there was something wrong in his nut — H.J.Laski

8.

a. slang Australia : larrikin

b.

(1) : one whose thinking or conduct is eccentric

his contemporaries sometimes considered him just a prodigiously talented nut — Time

(2) : one who is or seems to be mentally unbalanced

a nut got into the … reception and started screaming obscenities — Toni Howard

(3) : one who is overenthusiastic about a particular matter (as a hobby)

some golf nut who had ranged the world collecting out-of-the-way golf courses — E.J.Kahn

c. slang Britain : a smartly or sprucely dressed person

9. : a rounded cake or biscuit (as a doughnut or spice nut)

10. : the complete expense involved — usually used of the costs of a stage or television production

11. : en

indent one nut

- for nuts

- off one's nut

II. adjective

Etymology: Middle English nute, note, from Old English hnut-, from hnutu nut, noun

1. : of, relating to, or characteristic of a nut : having nuts

my little nut tree

2. : serving as a receptacle for nuts

nut dish

III. intransitive verb

( nutted ; nutted ; nutting ; nuts )

Etymology: nut (I)

: to gather or seek nuts — usually used in the form nutting

IV. noun

1. : a large sum of money

2. slang : a bribe given to a policeman

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.