callus

American  

[kal-uhs] / ˈkæl əs /

noun

• calluses
  plural

1. Pathology, Physiology.

   1. a hardened or thickened part of the skin; a callosity.

   2. a new growth of osseous matter at the ends of a fractured bone, serving to unite them.

2. Botany. Also

   1. the tissue that forms over the wounds of plants, protecting the inner tissues and causing healing.

   2. a deposit on the perforated area of a sieve tube.

   3. (in grasses) a tough swelling at the base of a lemma or palea.

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verb (used without object)

callused, callusing

1. to form a callus.

verb (used with object)

callused, callusing

1. to produce a callus or calluses on.

   Heavy work callused his hands.

callus British  

/ ˈkæləs /

noun

1. Also called: callosity. an area of skin that is hard or thick, esp on the palm of the hand or sole of the foot, as from continual friction or pressure

2. an area of bony tissue formed during the healing of a fractured bone

3. botany

   1. a mass of hard protective tissue produced in woody plants at the site of an injury

   2. an accumulation of callose in the sieve tubes

4. biotechnology a mass of undifferentiated cells produced as the first stage in tissue culture

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verb

1. to produce or cause to produce a callus

callus Scientific  

/ kăl′əs /

1. An area of the skin that has become hardened and thick, usually because of prolonged pressure or rubbing.

2. The hard bony tissue that develops around the ends of a fractured bone during healing.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uncallused
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• calluses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of callus

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin callus, masculine variant of callum “tough skin, any hard substance”; see callous

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Explanation

A callus is a spot where your skin becomes rough and thick. After wearing flip flops every day, all summer long, you'll probably have a callus between your toes. If you get a blister from playing tennis or digging in the garden, it will eventually turn into a callus if you keep swinging your racquet or using your trowel. Any spot on your skin that's rubbed and irritated repeatedly becomes a callus, or a thickened patch of skin. In medicine, another kind of callus is the bony tissue that forms when a broken bone heals. Don't confuse callus with callous — which sounds the same but means "insensitive and cruel."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

callus calluses callused callusing

Each adds another layer of callus over the public conscience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

“I want to build up a callus of hard work,” Fisch said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2024

The cells formed a tumorlike tissue known as callus that could then be coaxed to grow into a seedling.

From Science Magazine ● May 17, 2023

Will I have to ask for more time spent on that callus?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022

Beneath the table, I rubbed my thumb against the callus of my finger.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

Jobs that “put calluses on your hands—those are the only jobs I’ve ever had.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

"Our final, clear polish could be put over any manicure or even bare nails, which could help people with calluses on their fingertips, too. So, it has both a cosmetic and lifestyle benefit," explains Desai.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026

She was found with large calluses on her feet and ankles from constantly being on her hands and knees cleaning floors.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

While the country awaits Georgia’s first loss — we’re probably going to be waiting quite a while given the Bulldogs’ soft schedule — a collection of fascinating teams are ascendant and building calluses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2023

He had gray calluses on his ankles from the chafing of the rope that Paravans tied around their feet when they climbed coconut trees.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

The miners dug hundreds of feet deep with shovels and their bare, callused hands.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2022

At age 75, the tall, easy-mannered fisherman with a replaced knee and rough, callused hands is not as sure-footed as he once was.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2021

The stretched hide and callused hand, the scraped gourd and dried seeds, call out to the scratched record and the fingers dancing over the mixer’s dials.

From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2021

By 9, Joe’s small hands were callused and stinging.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2021

He tried the point and the blade again and again on his callused thumb-ball, and at last he tried it on his upper lip.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

Bioletti, on callusing beds, 56. on grafting, 48, 52. on pruning in California, 151. on resistant stocks, 63. quoted, 18.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

Apparently what occurred was that the grafting wax and paraffin which was coated over the scion melted and penetrated the union, like that much kerosene or penetrating oil, and prevented callusing.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting Battle Creek, Michigan, September 10 and 11, 1934 by Northern Nut Growers Association

It is usually better, however, to place them for several weeks in a callusing bed before planting.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

Conifer grafts are often placed in a grafting case for rapid callusing.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Forty-Second Annual Meeting Urbana, Illinois, August 28, 29 and 30, 1951 by Northern Nut Growers Association

If left as long as this in the callusing bed most of the scion buds will have started and formed white shoots.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

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