rawhide
Americannoun
-
untanned skin of cattle or other animals.
-
a rope or whip made of rawhide.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
untanned hide
-
a whip or rope made of strips cut from such a hide
Etymology
Origin of rawhide
Explanation
Rawhide is dried animal skin that hasn't been treated and turned into leather. Lampshades and drum heads are sometimes made from rawhide, and so are those leathery chews you give your dog to gnaw on. To turn an animal hide into something strong and pliant (like boot laces, upholstery, or shoes), it has to be tanned, processed with chemicals that strengthen the material. Rawhide, on the other hand, is raw, or "in its natural state." This means it's more delicate and generally less useful than finished leather. The fact that rawhide stretches and softens when wet makes it ideal for drum heads. Dogs love to chew on rawhide, though many vets discourage it.
Vocabulary lists containing rawhide
Wolf Brother
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Vocabulary from Readings 5, Unit 1
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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.
Ziegler said he used the rawhide mallet to strike the gun, while the hammer was pulled back, from several directions.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2024
Metal ring bits adopted from the Spanish caused distinctive fractures in an animal’s teeth and palate; rawhide bridles developed by Native people wore telltale grooves in the lower jaw.
From Science Magazine • Mar. 29, 2023
Three days later, the campaign chiefs from Florida and Arizona were summoned to the Roosevelt Room, where Trump gnawed on them furiously like a dog with a length of old rawhide.
From Salon • May 31, 2020
Mr. Kochever, 71, was recently standing over an odd assortment of football paraphernalia, all of it strewn throughout his bedroom: flags, dog masks, necklaces, rawhide bones.
From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2018
After a final round of soaking and drying, he had a reasonable skin of rawhide for rope and fishing-lines.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
