wart
Americannoun
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warts
plural
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a small, often hard, abnormal elevation on the skin, usually caused by a papomavirus.
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any small protuberance, as on the surface of certain plants, the skin of certain animals, etc.
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any unattractive detrimental feature or aspect.
The biography presents the full story of the prime minister's political career, warts and all.
noun
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Also called: verruca. pathol any firm abnormal elevation of the skin caused by a virus
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botany a small rounded outgrowth
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with all blemishes evident
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A small growth on the skin caused by a virus, occurring typically on the hands or feet.
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A similar growth on a plant, especially one caused by a fungal disease.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wart
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wearte; cognate with German Warze, Old Norse varta; akin to Latin verrūca “wart”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
So carefully observed are the head’s features that even a small wart marks the left cheek.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
The company provided services from tattoo and wart removal to lip filler and thread lifts, a type of facelift.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2024
The first experiment involved the participants remembering words in order -- words that were similar, either phonetically or in spelling, e.g. "bought," "caught," "taut" and "wart."
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2024
Or, if you prefer, an infected face wart that John Candy’s Uncle Buck would suggest a rat gnaw off your body.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2023
Except for her receding chin Turtle Wexler looked every inch the witch, her dark unbraided hair streaming wild in the wind from under her peaked hat, a putty wart pasted on her small beaked nose.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Still, the book doesn’t quite deliver on its promise; this “warts-and-all” look at the American past dwells, a bit predictably, on the warts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Mr Pettigrew said he welcomed the NC500 Ltd impact study "so long as it is warts and all" but said it was 10 years too late.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
Having spent nearly 50 years telling America’s stories, warts and all, Ken Burns knows better than to traffic in the reassurance business.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
But receiving love for my whole self, warts and all—that was the first step toward transformation.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025
He told himself he didn't believe in any of it, but he had to, because Broughton-Smith's warts were gone, and because the next morning, Kingshaw saw him, looking and looking at him.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
