rusk
noun
a slice of sweet raised bread dried and baked again in the oven; zwieback.
rusk
1 American
[ruhsk]
/ rʌsk /
noun
-
a slice of sweet raised bread dried and baked again in the oven; zwieback.
-
light, soft, sweetened biscuit.
Rusk
2
American
[ruhsk]
/ rʌsk /
noun
Rusk
1
British
/ rʌsk /
noun
rusk
2
British
/ rʌsk /
noun
Etymology
Origin of rusk
1585–95; alteration Spanish or Portuguese rosca twist of bread, literally, screw
Explanation
A rusk is a very hard, dry cookie or bread that's commonly given to babies to gnaw on. You can also serve rusks at a party with cheese or a tasty dip. Rusks go through the baking process at least twice. By definition, hard cookies like Italian biscotti and crispy flatbreads like melba toast qualify as rusks, since both are twice — baked and have a dry, crisp texture. The term rusk most commonly applies specifically to the hard cookies that teething babies can safely chew on. The word comes from the Spanish rosca, "twist of bread."
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:
But a few of the cockatoos are more discriminating, customizing their meals with one final flourish: Before eating the rock-hard rusk, they dunk it in a tub of water.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
Some restaurants will also serve breakfast with fruit pudding, a mix of flour, rusk, oatmeal and fruit.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2021
If you try to monkey with it too much from a later perspective you run the rusk of muddying the waters.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2021
I feel too fat to finish my rusk.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 13, 2013
In a few minutes she was back with a tray of tea and rusk.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Simon Rusk may now be the caretaker but he will have taken charge of eight games come the end of the season - as many as Nathan Jones managed in 2022-23.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
Rusk, where the high court grappled with a naturalized citizen being stripped of her citizenship for returning to her home country for a few years.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
Officials in Rusk County, near the Louisiana border, said that more than 100 vehicles there had been damaged by a hailstorm.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Carter later wrote in a memoir that a visit from former Secretary of State Dean Rusk in early 1973 affirmed his leanings.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2023
The battle was on at the Bay of Pigs, Cabell told Rusk, but the landing was taking longer than expected.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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