protruding

American  

[proh-troo-ding, pruh-] / proʊˈtru dɪŋ, prə- /

adjective

1. projecting outward, as from a surface.

   The driver pulled in too close to the curb and knocked over the sign with his truck’s protruding side mirror.

   The phone’s protruding camera lens is at a high risk for getting scratched.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonprotruding
  adjective
• unprotruding
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of protruding

protrud(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

Something protruding is sticking out. When you're playing hide and seek, be sure your whole body is under the bed — a protruding arm or leg will give away your hiding spot. The part sticking out of an otherwise flat surface can be described as protruding. If a display is protruding from a storefront, you have to walk around it. If you have a big, red zit protruding from your forehead, you should probably see a dermatologist. And if you look up the mountainside and see rocks protruding, look out! Protruding rocks tend to fall down, which could put a damper on the hike.

Example Sentences

Protruding from the moon’s south pole is an upside down bust of Peary.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

Protruding from the top of each drum is a pipe into which the voter will slot a marble handed over by an election official.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2021

Protruding from the top of her head were the two pedestals: cylinders reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster, each the diameter of a quarter, and capped to prevent moisture from getting into the contact points.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 19, 2018

Protruding from the narrow end of the cell is one hairless flagellum and one hairy flagellum.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Protruding from the elastic pocket on the outside of one arm was an aspirator, along with two or three pill bottles.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• arresting
• conspicuous
• pertinent
• weighty