I. nut 1 S3 /nʌt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hnutu ]
1 . FOOD a dry brown fruit inside a hard shell, that grows on a tree:
a pine nut
roasted nuts
We were sitting round the fire cracking nuts (=opening them) .
2 .
TOOL a small piece of metal with a hole through the middle which is screwed onto a ↑ bolt to fasten things together:
Use a wrench to loosen the nut.
3 . CRAZY PERSON informal someone who is crazy or behaves strangely:
My dad is such a nut.
What are you, some kind of nut?
4 . golf/opera etc nut informal someone who is very interested in golf etc ⇨ fanatic :
You don’t have to be a sports nut to enjoy skiing.
5 . SEX ORGAN nuts [plural] informal a man’s ↑ testicle s
6 . the nuts and bolts of something informal the practical details of a subject or job:
the nuts and bolts of government
7 . tough/hard nut informal someone who is difficult to deal with:
He may have softened a bit in his old age but he’s still a tough nut.
8 . a hard/tough nut to crack a difficult problem or situation:
Celtic have lost only once this season and will be a tough nut to crack.
9 . be off your nut British English spoken informal to be crazy:
You must be off your nut!
10 . do your nut British English spoken to become very angry or worried:
I didn’t get home till three – my mum did her nut!
11 . HEAD British English spoken old-fashioned your head or brain
sb’s nut
Oh come on, use your nut!
II. nut 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle nutted , present participle nutting ) [transitive] British English spoken
to hit someone with your head SYN headbutt :
He just turned round and nutted me!