talon

[ tal-uhn ]
See synonyms for talon on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a claw, especially of a bird of prey.

  2. the shoulder on the bolt of a lock against which the key presses in sliding the bolt.

  1. Cards. the cards left over after the deal; stock.

Origin of talon

1
1350–1400; Middle English taloun<Anglo-French; Old French talon<Vulgar Latin *tālōn-, stem of *tālō, for Latin tālus heel

Other words from talon

  • taloned, adjective
  • un·tal·oned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use talon in a sentence

  • With her all-powerful and elastic muscles she encircled and oppressed her mount, clawing with two great talons at his breast.

    Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier
  • As he passed he struck for my shoulder, and his grip, although it did not hold, was like the cutting of a hawk's talons.

    The Way of a Man | Emerson Hough
  • The talons of the wild beast enter into your flesh; but with the cephaloptera it is you who enter into the creature.

    Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
  • Tin Philosopher lifted one of his own sets of bright talons.

    Bread Overhead | Fritz Reuter Leiber
  • Yet, I was still in the tiger's den, and I expected to feel the talons.

British Dictionary definitions for talon

talon

/ (ˈtælən) /


noun
  1. a sharply hooked claw, esp of a bird of prey

  2. anything resembling a bird's claw

  1. the part of a lock that the key presses on when it is turned

  2. cards the pile of cards left after the deal

  3. architect another name for ogee

  4. stock exchange a printed slip attached to some bearer bonds to enable the holder to apply for a new sheet of coupons

Origin of talon

1
C14: from Old French: heel, from Latin tālus heel

Derived forms of talon

  • taloned, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for talon

talon

[ tălən ]


  1. One of the sharp, curved claws on a limb of a bird or other animal such as a lizard, used for seizing and tearing prey. Most talons are situated at the ends of digits.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.