HARDTACK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hardtack mean? 

• HARDTACK (noun)
  The noun HARDTACK has 2 senses:

1. very hard unsalted biscuit or bread; a former ship's staple

2. a mountain mahogany

  Familiarity information: HARDTACK used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HARDTACK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Very hard unsalted biscuit or bread; a former ship's staple

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

hardtack; pilot biscuit; pilot bread; sea biscuit; ship biscuit

Hypernyms ("hardtack" is a kind of...):

biscuit (small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A mountain mahogany

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("hardtack" is a kind of...):

mahogany; mahogany tree (any of various tropical timber trees of the family Meliaceae especially the genus Swietinia valued for their hard yellowish- to reddish-brown wood that is readily worked and takes a high polish)

 Context examples 

It was lined with hardtack; the mattress was stuffed with hardtack; every nook and cranny was filled with hardtack.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)