wart
Americannoun
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warts
plural
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a small, often hard, abnormal elevation on the skin, usually caused by a papomavirus.
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any small protuberance, as on the surface of certain plants, the skin of certain animals, etc.
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any unattractive detrimental feature or aspect.
The biography presents the full story of the prime minister's political career, warts and all.
noun
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Also called: verruca. pathol any firm abnormal elevation of the skin caused by a virus
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botany a small rounded outgrowth
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with all blemishes evident
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A small growth on the skin caused by a virus, occurring typically on the hands or feet.
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A similar growth on a plant, especially one caused by a fungal disease.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wart
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wearte; cognate with German Warze, Old Norse varta; akin to Latin verrūca “wart”
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:
So carefully observed are the head’s features that even a small wart marks the left cheek.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
The company provided services from tattoo and wart removal to lip filler and thread lifts, a type of facelift.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2024
The first experiment involved the participants remembering words in order -- words that were similar, either phonetically or in spelling, e.g. "bought," "caught," "taut" and "wart."
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2024
We have heard of using a cut potato to heal a wart, but we were unfamiliar with using potato for a sting.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2023
Her pink lip wart quivering, she said, “Rucker’s passed on, ain’t he, Will?”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Still, the book doesn’t quite deliver on its promise; this “warts-and-all” look at the American past dwells, a bit predictably, on the warts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
A "warts and all" assessment of the impact of the North Coast 500 road trip has been ordered amid concerns about overtourism.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
“I thought I showed them in a good light but I guess they felt that I showed too many of the warts and not enough of the clear skin.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
But receiving love for my whole self, warts and all—that was the first step toward transformation.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025
When used in cooking, its resin lent a pungent, onionlike taste perhaps not unlike modern asafoetida; when taken as medicine, the juice was said to cure sore throats, warts, fever, sour stomach, leprosy, and baldness.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
