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  • nut
    nut
    noun
    a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.
  • Nut
    Nut
    noun
    the goddess of the sky, sometimes shown as a cow bearing Ra on her back and the stars on her underside.
  • N.U.T.
    N.U.T.
    abbreviation
    National Union of Teachers.
  • NUT
    NUT
    abbreviation
    National Union of Teachers
Synonyms

nut

1 American  
[nuht] / nʌt /

noun

nuts plural
  1. a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.

  2. the kernel itself.

  3. Botany. a hard, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, as the chestnut or the acorn.

  4. any of various devices or ornaments resembling a nut.

  5. 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.

  6. Slang. the head.

  7. Slang.

    1. a person who is very enthusiastic about something; buff; enthusiast; devotee.

      He's a real circus nut.

    2. an extremely concerned or zealous person.

      My boss is a nut on double-checking everything.

  8. Slang.

    1. a foolish, silly, or eccentric person.

    2. an insane person; psychotic.

  9. Slang: Vulgar. a testis.

  10. Informal.

    1. the operating expenses, usually figured weekly, of a theatrical production or other commercial enterprise; a break-even point.

    2. the total cost of producing a theatrical production or of forming and opening any new business venture.

  11. Music. (in instruments of the violin family)

    1. the ledge, as of ebony, at the upper end of the fingerboard, over which the strings pass.

    2. the movable piece at the lower end of the bow, by means of which the hairs may be slackened or tightened.

  12. Printing. en.


verb (used without object)

nutted, nutting
  1. to seek for or gather nuts.

    to go nutting in late autumn.

idioms

  1. off one's nut,

    1. Sometimes Offensive. foolish, silly, or insane.

    2. confused; unreasonable.

    3. mistaken or wrong.

      You're off your nut if you think such a plan can succeed.

  2. hard nut to crack, Also tough nut to crack

    1. a problem difficult to solve; a formidable undertaking.

    2. a person difficult to know, understand, or convince.

  3. from soup to nuts. soup.

Nut 2 American  
[noot] / nut /

noun

Egyptian Religion.
  1. the goddess of the sky, sometimes shown as a cow bearing Ra on her back and the stars on her underside.


N.U.T. 3 American  

abbreviation

British.
  1. National Union of Teachers.


nut 1 British  
/ nʌt /

noun

  1. a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit that usually possesses a woody wall

  2. (not in technical use) any similar fruit, such as the walnut, having a hard shell and an edible kernel

  3. the edible kernel of such a fruit

  4. slang

    1. an eccentric person

    2. a person who is mentally disturbed

  5. a slang word for head

  6. slang to be extremely angry; go into a rage

  7. slang mad, crazy, or foolish

  8. a person or thing that presents difficulties (esp in the phrase a tough or hard nut to crack )

  9. a small square or hexagonal block, usu. metal, with a threaded hole through the middle for screwing on the end of a bolt

  10. Also called: chockmountaineering 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

  11. Also called (US and Canadian): frogmusic

    1. 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

    2. the end of a violin bow that is held by the player

  12. printing another word for en

  13. a small usually gingery biscuit

  14. a small piece of coal

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to gather nuts

  2. slang (tr) to butt (someone) with the head

"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
NUT 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. National Union of Teachers

"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

nut Scientific  
/ nŭt /
  1. A dry, indehiscent simple fruit consisting of one seed surrounded by a hard and thick pericarp (fruit wall). The seed does not adhere to the pericarp but is connected to it by the funiculus. A nut is similar to an achene but larger. Acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts are true nuts. Informally, other edible seeds or dry fruits enclosed in a hard or leathery shell are also called nuts, though they are not true nuts. For instance, an almond kernel is actually the seed of a drupe. Its familiar whitish shell is an endocarp found within the greenish fruit of the almond tree. Peanuts are actually individual seeds from a seed pod called a legume.


nut More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing nut


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of nut

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

Explanation

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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:

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

The company said strong sales of products including Jennie-O ground turkey, Applegate meats, and the Herdez portfolio were partially offset by an exit from non-core private label snack nut items.

From The Wall Street Journal May 28, 2026

To add some variety, I also like to sprinkle in some extra dark chocolate chips with the granola layer and/or drizzle a bit of nut butter into the fruit layer.

From Salon May 24, 2026

This seemed to suggest that the Earth was splitting apart at the seams, like a nut bursting out of its shell.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

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

The episode, titled Got a Nut, premiered on 6 August and finds the character Clyde Donovan espousing offensive views on a podcast.

From BBC Sep. 12, 2025

Although organizations like the Northern Nut Growers Association have funded pawpaw research in the past, new crops simply lack the resources of a multi-billion-dollar industry, like the one for apples.

From Salon Aug. 14, 2024

From the air, the Nut appeared to be just another mountain with a few entrances on its faces.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

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

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

Among them are former NUT general secretary Christine Blower, for Labour, and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, who will become the party's second peer in the House of Lords.

From BBC Sep. 9, 2019

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

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

Benedict, from Stamford, Lincolnshire, had asthma and a number of allergies, including eggs, nuts and milk.

From BBC Jul. 5, 2026

Mexican fruit flies are also known to host inside nuts and vegetables, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 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

There’s a bunch of well-cared-for hand tools, sandpaper, a bag of screws, nuts, and bolts, plus a lot more.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

"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

There was no picnic and nutting party the next day, owing to a downpour of rain.

From The Eye of Dread by Erskine, Payne

The nut-stealers take no care in pulling down the boughs, but break them shamefully, destroying entire bushes; and for this reason in many places, where nutting was once freely permitted, it is now rigidly repressed.

From The Gamekeeper At Home Sketches of Natural History and Rural Life by Jefferies, Richard

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