nut

[ nuht ]

/ nʌt /

noun

a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.

the kernel itself.

Botany. a hard, indehiscent, one-seeded fruit, as the chestnut or the acorn.

any of various devices or ornaments resembling a nut.

a block, usually of metal and generally square or hexagonal, perforated with a threaded hole so that it can be screwed down on a bolt to hold together objects through which the bolt passes.

Slang. the head.

Slang.

a person who is very enthusiastic about something; buff; enthusiast; devotee: He's a real circus nut.
an extremely concerned or zealous person: My boss is a nut on double-checking everything.

Slang.

a foolish, silly, or eccentric person.
an insane person; psychotic.

Slang: Vulgar. a testis.

Informal.

the operating expenses, usually figured weekly, of a theatrical production or other commercial enterprise; a break-even point.
the total cost of producing a theatrical production or of forming and opening any new business venture.

Music. (in instruments of the violin family)

the ledge, as of ebony, at the upper end of the fingerboard, over which the strings pass.
the movable piece at the lower end of the bow, by means of which the hairs may be slackened or tightened.

Printing. en(def 2).

verb (used without object), nut·ted, nut·ting.

to seek for or gather nuts: to go nutting in late autumn.

Idioms for nut

from soup to nuts. soup(def 7).

hard nut to crack,

a problem difficult to solve; a formidable undertaking.
a person difficult to know, understand, or convince.

Also tough nut to crack.

off one's nut, Slang.

Sometimes Offensive. foolish, silly, or insane.
confused; unreasonable.
mistaken or wrong: You're off your nut if you think such a plan can succeed.

Origin of nut

before 900; 1900–05 for def 8b; Middle English nute, Old English hnutu; cognate with Dutch noot, German Nuss, Old Norse hnot; akin to Latin nux

OTHER WORDS FROM nut

nut·like, adjective

Words nearby nut

nurturance, nurture, nus, nusa tenggara, nusku, nut, nut case, nut dash, nut grass, nut house, nut key

British Dictionary definitions for hard nut to crack (1 of 2)

NUT

abbreviation for (in Britain)

National Union of Teachers

British Dictionary definitions for hard nut to crack (2 of 2)

nut

/ (nʌt) /

noun

a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit that usually possesses a woody wall

(not in technical use) any similar fruit, such as the walnut, having a hard shell and an edible kernel

the edible kernel of such a fruit

slang

an eccentric person
a person who is mentally disturbed

a slang word for head (def. 1)

do one's nut British slang to be extremely angry; go into a rage

off one's nut slang mad, crazy, or foolish

a person or thing that presents difficulties (esp in the phrase a tough or hard nut to crack)

a small square or hexagonal block, usu. metal, with a threaded hole through the middle for screwing on the end of a bolt

mountaineering a variously shaped small metal block, usually a wedge or hexagonal prism (originally an ordinary engineer's nut) with a wire or rope loop attached, for jamming into a crack to provide security Also called: chock

Also called (US and Canadian): frog music

the ledge or ridge at the upper end of the fingerboard of a violin, cello, etc, over which the strings pass to the tuning pegs
the end of a violin bow that is held by the player

printing another word for en

a small usually gingery biscuit

British a small piece of coal

verb nuts, nutting or nutted

(intr) to gather nuts

(tr) slang to butt (someone) with the head

Derived forms of nut

nutlike, adjective

Word Origin for nut

Old English hnutu; related to Old Norse hnot, Old High German hnuz (German Nuss)

Scientific definitions for hard nut to crack

nut

[ nŭt ]

A dry, indehiscent simple fruit consisting of one seed surrounded by a hard and thick pericarp (fruit wall). The seed does not adhere to the pericarp but is connected to it by the funiculus. A nut is similar to an achene but larger. Acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts, and hazelnuts are true nuts. Informally, other edible seeds or dry fruits enclosed in a hard or leathery shell are also called nuts, though they are not true nuts. For instance, an almond kernel is actually the seed of a drupe. Its familiar whitish shell is an endocarp found within the greenish fruit of the almond tree. Peanuts are actually individual seeds from a seed pod called a legume.

Idioms and Phrases with hard nut to crack (1 of 2)

hard nut to crack

Also, tough nut to crack. A difficult problem; also, an individual who is difficult to deal with. For example, This assignment is a hard nut to crack, or It won't be easy getting her approval; she's a tough nut to crack. This metaphoric expression alludes to hard-shelled nuts like walnuts. [Early 1700s]

Idioms and Phrases with hard nut to crack (2 of 2)

nut

In addition to the idioms beginning with nuts

nuts about, be
nuts and bolts, the

also see:

drive someone crazy (nuts)
from soup to nuts
hard nut to crack

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

nut

noun