a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.
the kernel itself.
Botany. a hard, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, as the chestnut or the acorn.
any of various devices or ornaments resembling a nut.
a block, usually of metal and generally square or hexagonal, perforated with a threaded hole so that it can be screwed down on a bolt to hold together objects through which the bolt passes.
Slang. the head.
Slang.
a person who is very enthusiastic about something; buff; enthusiast; devotee.
He's a real circus nut.
an extremely concerned or zealous person.
My boss is a nut on double-checking everything.
Slang.
a foolish, silly, or eccentric person.
an insane person; psychotic.
Slang: Vulgar. a testis.
Informal.
the operating expenses, usually figured weekly, of a theatrical production or other commercial enterprise; a break-even point.
the total cost of producing a theatrical production or of forming and opening any new business venture.
Music. (in instruments of the violin family)
the ledge, as of ebony, at the upper end of the fingerboard, over which the strings pass.
the movable piece at the lower end of the bow, by means of which the hairs may be slackened or tightened.
Printing. en.
off one's nut,
Sometimes Offensive. foolish, silly, or insane.
confused; unreasonable.
mistaken or wrong.
You're off your nut if you think such a plan can succeed.
hard nut to crack, Also tough nut to crack
a problem difficult to solve; a formidable undertaking.
a person difficult to know, understand, or convince.
from soup to nuts. soup.
a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit that usually possesses a woody wall
(not in technical use) any similar fruit, such as the walnut, having a hard shell and an edible kernel
the edible kernel of such a fruit
slang
an eccentric person
a person who is mentally disturbed
a slang word for head
slang to be extremely angry; go into a rage
slang mad, crazy, or foolish
a person or thing that presents difficulties (esp in the phrase a tough or hard nut to crack )
a small square or hexagonal block, usu. metal, with a threaded hole through the middle for screwing on the end of a bolt
Also called: chock. mountaineering a variously shaped small metal block, usually a wedge or hexagonal prism (originally an ordinary engineer's nut) with a wire or rope loop attached, for jamming into a crack to provide security
Also called (US and Canadian): frog. music
the ledge or ridge at the upper end of the fingerboard of a violin, cello, etc, over which the strings pass to the tuning pegs
the end of a violin bow that is held by the player
printing another word for en
a small usually gingery biscuit
a small piece of coal
(intr) to gather nuts
slang (tr) to butt (someone) with the head
before 900; 1900–05 nut for def. 8b; Middle English nute, Old English hnutu; cognate with Dutch noot, German Nuss, Old Norse hnot; akin to Latin nux
A nut is a kind of fruit made of a large, edible seed with a very hard shell around it. The nuts that squirrels typically gather (sometimes storing them temporarily in their cheek pouches) are acorns. It might seem strange that a nut is a fruit, since until they've been cracked open, most nuts are as hard and inedible as rocks. Think of the meat of a walnut or almond that hides inside — this is the edible seed within the fruit. If someone calls you a nut, or describes you as nuts or nutty, they think you're crazy or wacky, and when you refer to "a tough nut to crack," you're talking about a tricky problem.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One way to understand molecular handedness is to think about a screw and a nut.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Mike Rigby described the restrictions as "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Sagan has a gig that any sports nut would envy: He basically gets paid to watch games.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
"This is the blueprint of my life," said the actor, a lifelong aeroplane nut, who narrates the story.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
“The ones with nuts are marked with a nut on top. The others are plain.”
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
The review, "Pecans and Human Health: Distinctive Benefits of an American Nut," published in Nutrients, evaluated more than 20 years of research on pecans and health.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2026
And they have given their homes whimsical names such as Sea Castle, Nut House and A Turn of Fraise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
One serving of Honey Nut Cheerios, for example, contains 12 grams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Kellanova will move production of Corn Flakes and Crunchy Nut from its Greater Manchester plant, doubling the Welsh factory's capacity to 1.5 million boxes a day.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2024
While everyone considers the plan, Boggs flips through a stack of blueprints of the Nut and frowns.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Following more tests, he learned in September that he had NUT carcinoma — a rare diagnosis that “seems to be a random, unprovoked event,” according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Massachusetts.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
They flew to Dana-Farber to consult with one of the doctors who discovered NUT carcinoma in the early 2000s.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
For Off-White, Abloh has designed cowboy boots with the words “FOR WALKING” running up the calves, and a hex-nut-shaped ring engraved with the words “HEX NUT ring.”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 11, 2019
The spymaster had been thinking of NUT, because of elephants and peanuts, but she stays mum.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2018
Mr.Wonka rushed on down the corridor, THE NUT ROOM, it said on the next door they came to.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
If it happens, the fuss will be nuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
But in a perverse way, I’m glad he said it, even though it’s completely nuts and not remotely supported by precedent or the Constitution.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Rudolph explained that the exhibit’s hardware, including its bolts and nuts, are unique and extremely specialized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
But the widespread assumption this weekend in the party is that Burnham would beat him hands down, another government source said: "It's nuts" to imagine the PM could come out on top.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
I was chewing the fiber off them when a shower of plump orange nuts suddenly fell all over me, some knocking me on the head.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
"What comes next is the execution risk. There's a lot of details still to be nutted out."
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Before even making it to the next left, we were pulled over by the PO-PO, who then called for back up and nutted up on us with an additional 6 cop cars!
From Time Magazine Archive
They are that already—and it's patent-lock nutted throughout, and the engine is that new kind that interlocks.
From The Motormaniacs by Osbourne, Lloyd
BST14:17 58 min: Bordeaux reply by going close themselves, Saivet nutting the ball into the sidenetting after racing in front of Liverpool defenders to meet a corner at the near post.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 2015
This was slapstick stuff and Houghton delivered the perfect punchline by nutting the ball into net from 12 yards.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 1, 2012
When the Zuni men had their wives and children established on the nutting grounds they returned to their fields.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I have often gone hazel nutting when I was a boy," said her uncle.
From How We are Fed A Geographical Reader by Chamberlain, James Franklin
With a crook to seize the bush as high up as possible—where it bends more easily—not a twig need be broken, and nutting may be enjoyed without doing the least damage.
From Wild Life in a Southern County by Jefferies, Richard
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.
