walnut

American  

[wawl-nuht, -nuht] / ˈwɔlˌnʌt, -nət /

noun

1. the edible nut of trees of the genus Juglans, of the North Temperate Zone.

2. the tree itself.

3. the wood of such a tree.

4. Northeastern U.S. the hickory nut.

5. any of various fruits or trees resembling the walnut.

6. a somewhat reddish shade of brown, as that of the heartwood of the black walnut tree.

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walnut British  

/ ˈwɔːlˌnʌt /

noun

1. any juglandaceous deciduous tree of the genus Juglans, of America, SE Europe, and Asia, esp J. regia, which is native to W Asia but introduced elsewhere. They have aromatic leaves and flowers in catkins and are grown for their edible nuts and for their wood

2. the nut of any of these trees, having a wrinkled two-lobed seed and a hard wrinkled shell

3. the wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, panelling, etc

4. a light yellowish-brown colour

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adjective

1. made from the wood of a walnut tree

   a walnut table

2. of the colour walnut

Etymology

Origin of walnut

before 1050; Middle English; Old English wealh-hnutu literally, foreign nut; Welsh, nut

Explanation

A walnut is a type of deciduous tree, and it's also the name of the edible seed it produces. Walnuts have famously hard shells: You'll need a tool to crack a walnut open and get to the tasty part inside. Several species of walnut trees are grown for both seeds and timber. The wood itself, which can also be called walnut, is hard and sturdy enough to use for furniture and cutting boards. The trees are native to many parts of the world, and walnuts appear in a variety of regional foods, from Persian stews to baklava to British pickled walnuts. The Old English source of walnut is walhnutu, which literally means "foreign nut."

Example Sentences

See’s Candies, founded in Los Angeles in 1921, makes a “St. Patrick’s Day potato” using divinity — a nougat-like, marshmallowy confection — mixed with walnut, coated in chocolate, and rolled in cocoa powder and cinnamon.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

The area was once viewed as ominous, dominated by an ancient walnut tree believed to be infested with demons and marking the supposed burial place of Emperor Nero.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

Pesky male walnut trees were growing unhindered in their absence.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

When I asked Neo to crack a walnut shell, it couldn’t.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

Its environment of sharp thinking and bonhomie—the walnut paneling, the sherry cart once owned by Oliver Wendell Holmes—delighted Venkatesh.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt