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:
Forgo pondering the eternal question of why the pumpkin in the shape we want has a weird wart and why the pumpkin without the weird wart isn’t in the shape we want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
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
I hear him saying, “Hey, Veer—it’s not every day you get lowered into a hole by a guy with a wart on his nose, right?”
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
This isn’t to say that either of them is a raging narcissist who cares only about themselves, but there’s no doubt that their sport’s seismic, life-altering dangers are on full display, warts and all.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
But if you don’t, well, maybe you never really loved L.A. as much as the City of Angels, warts and all, deserves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
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
It is music that shall be heard as long as there are goblins to play it, as long as warts and pointy ears persist on this earth.”
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
