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:
Forgo pondering the eternal question of why the pumpkin in the shape we want has a weird wart and why the pumpkin without the weird wart isn’t in the shape we want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
So carefully observed are the head’s features that even a small wart marks the left cheek.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
Ms Evans first took Nansi to see a GP in May 2021, where she was told the growth was a wart.
From BBC ● Aug. 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
She had to concentrate on the present, putting one foot in front of the other, taking this downhill intestinal hike one giant wart at a time.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“When something has a veneer that is very pleasant and there’s no messiness or warts, you wonder if there’s something going on underneath,” Kelly says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
HPV is a common group of viruses affecting the skin, which do not cause problems in most people but certain types can cause cancer or genital warts.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Having spent nearly 50 years telling America’s stories, warts and all, Ken Burns knows better than to traffic in the reassurance business.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
I felt as if she’d looked right into my heart and seen all my warts and flaws, and held her own heart out to me anyway.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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