Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

tusk shell

American  

noun

  1. tooth shell.

tusk shell British  

noun

  1. Also called: tooth shell.  any of various burrowing seashore molluscs of the genus Dentalium and related genera that have a long narrow tubular shell open at both ends: class Scaphopoda

"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

Etymology

Origin of tusk shell

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

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.

Dentalium, a tusk shell often used in Indigenous jewelry, caught her eye in particular.

From Los Angeles Times

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.