nutcracker

[ nuht-krak-er ]

/ ˈnʌtˌkræk ər /

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noun

an instrument or device for cracking the shells of nuts.

any of several corvine birds of the genus Nucifraga that feed on nuts, as the common nutcracker, N. caryocatactes, of Europe and Clark's nutcracker, N. columbiana, of the western U.S.

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Origin of nutcracker

First recorded in 1540–50; nut + cracker

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use nutcracker in a sentence

Beech-Nut is still in existence, and is the third largest baby food manufacturer in the United States.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
White King Soap sponsored the show on the West Coast, and Beech-Nut Gum in the East.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
David Lowery of Camper von Beethoven and Cracker made this case in a viral post from 2012.
Death of the Author by Viral Infection: In Defense of Taylor Swift, Digital Doomsayer|Arthur Chu|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Donbass region is a harder nut to crack—the Ukrainians are determined to keep it.
Putin Is Lying on Ukraine—and the West Can’t Stop Him|Jamie Dettmer|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

During the first 32 minutes of Left Behind, the message is this: Christians are nut jobs.
‘Left Behind’ Review: Nicolas Cage’s Bible Movie Is God-Awful|Matthew Paul Turner|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And he himself brought her the golden-brown bouillon, in a dainty Sevres cup, with a flaky cracker or two on the saucer.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
This was a hard nut to crack, if his past were not to be ruthlessly severed from Angel's by a word.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
It is prepared from the nut of the areca palm, one of the most beautiful trees in the world.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
She vacantly hummed a fantastic tune as she poked at the wood embers on the hearth and munched a cracker.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
For each guest there was a cocoa-nut shell, half-filled with miti, a sourish beverage extracted from the cocoa-palm.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer

British Dictionary definitions for nutcracker

nutcracker

/ (ˈnʌtˌkrækə) /

noun

(often plural) a device for cracking the shells of nuts

either of two birds, Nucifraga caryocatactes of the Old World or N. columbianus (Clark's nutcracker) of North America, having speckled plumage and feeding on nuts, seeds, etc: family Corvidae (crows)

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