walrus

[ wawl-ruhs, wol- ]

noun,plural wal·rus·es, (especially collectively) wal·rus.
  1. a large marine mammal, Odobenus nosmarus, of Arctic seas, related to the seals, and having flippers, a pair of large tusks, and a tough, wrinkled skin.

Origin of walrus

1
First recorded in 1645–55; from Dutch: literally, “whale horse”; cognate with German Walross, Danish hvalros; compare Old English horshwæl “horse-whale”

Words Nearby walrus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use walrus in a sentence

  • The skin of the walrus is an inch thick, wrinkled, and covered with very short hair of different colours.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • The walrus is easily distinguished by its long tusks, a character which we find peculiar to that and the elephant.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • We have only seen two heads on this subject, which resembled that of the walrus more than any other animal.

    Buffon's Natural History. Volume IX (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
  • Like the kayaks, it was covered with seal-skin; or perhaps it might have been the hide of the walrus.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
  • We then took the captain with us to see their huts and our walrus-skin tent.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for walrus

walrus

/ (ˈwɔːlrəs, ˈwɒl-) /


nounplural -ruses or -rus
  1. a pinniped mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, of northern seas, having a tough thick skin, upper canine teeth enlarged as tusks, and coarse whiskers and feeding mainly on shellfish: family Odobenidae

Origin of walrus

1
C17: probably from Dutch, from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse hrosshvalr (literally: horse whale) and Old English horschwæl; see horse, whale

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