NUT (nutted, nutting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: nutted    , nutting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Nut mean? 

• NUT (noun)
  The noun NUT has 7 senses:

1. usually large hard-shelled seed

2. Egyptian goddess of the sky

3. a small (usually square or hexagonal) metal block with internal screw thread to be fitted onto a bolt

4. half the width of an em

5. a whimsically eccentric person

6. someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction

7. one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens

  Familiarity information: NUT used as a noun is common.

• NUT (verb)
  The verb NUT has 1 sense:

1. gather nuts

  Familiarity information: NUT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NUT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Usually large hard-shelled seed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

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

seed (a small hard fruit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nut"):

edible nut (a hard-shelled seed consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell)

cedar nut; cembra nut (the seed of the Swiss pine)

cola nut; kola nut (bitter brown seed containing caffein; source of cola extract)

mast (nuts of forest trees (as beechnuts and acorns) accumulated on the ground)

palm kernel; palm nut (seed of any oil palm)

nutlet (a small nut)

Derivation:

nut (gather nuts)

nutty (having the flavor of nuts)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Egyptian goddess of the sky

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

Egyptian deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Egyptians)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small (usually square or hexagonal) metal block with internal screw thread to be fitted onto a bolt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

block (a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nut"):

locknut; safety nut (supplementary nut that is screwed down on a primary nut to prevent it from loosening)

square nut (nut with a square shape)

packing nut; stuffing nut (a nut used to tighten a stuffing box)

butterfly nut; thumbnut; wing-nut; wing nut; wing screw (a threaded nut with winglike projections for thumb and forefinger leverage in turning)

hex nut (a nut with a hexagonal shape)

Holonyms ("nut" is a part of...):

nut and bolt (a fastener made by screwing a nut onto a threaded bolt)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Half the width of an em

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

en; nut

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

linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)

Holonyms ("nut" is a part of...):

em; pica; pica em (a linear unit (1/6 inch) used in printing)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A whimsically eccentric person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

crackpot; crank; fruitcake; nut; nut case; screwball

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

eccentric; eccentric person; flake; geek; oddball (a person with an unusual or odd personality)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

addict; freak; junkie; junky; nut

Context example:

a news junkie

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

enthusiast; partisan; partizan (an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of some person or activity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nut"):

gym rat (someone who spends all leisure time playing sports or working out in a gymnasium or health spa)

Sense 7

Meaning:

One of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

ball; ballock; bollock; egg; nut; orchis; testicle; testis

Context example:

she kicked him in the balls and got away

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

gonad; sex gland (a gland in which gametes (sex cells) are produced)

male reproductive gland (the reproductive organs of a man)

Meronyms (parts of "nut"):

rete testis (network of tubules carrying sperm from the seminiferous tubules to the vasa efferentia)

spermatic cord (a structure resembling a cord that suspends the testis within the scrotum and contains the vas deferens and other vessels and nerves)

ductus deferens; vas deferens (a duct that carries spermatozoa from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct)

epididymis (a convoluted tubule in each testis; carries sperm to vas deferens)

testicular vein; vena testicularis (a vein from the testicles)

arteria testicularis; internal spermatic artery; testicular artery (a branch of the aorta supplying the testicles)

seminiferous tubule (any of the numerous long convoluted tubules in the testis which are the sites where spermatozoa mature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nut"):

undescended testicle; undescended testis (a testis that fails to move into the scrotum as the male fetus develops)

cobblers (a man's testicles (from Cockney rhyming slang: cobbler's awl rhymes with ball))

Holonyms ("nut" is a part of...):

family jewels; male genital organ; male genitalia; male genitals (external male sex organs)

male reproductive system (the reproductive system of males)

• NUT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they nut    ... he / she / it nuts   
Past simple: nutted   
Past participle: nutted   
-ing form: nutting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Gather nuts

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "nut" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

In the summer they like to go out and nut

Derivation:

nut (usually large hard-shelled seed)

 Context examples 

Problem foods for children can include eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, and wheat.

(Food Allergy, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Another day Chanticleer and Partlet agreed to go again to the mountains to eat nuts; and it was settled that all the nuts which they found should be shared equally between them.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

This pleased Dorothy, who had eaten nothing but nuts all day, and she made a hearty meal of the ripe fruit.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Some foods to stay away from include: • Eggs • Honey • Peanuts (including peanut butter) • Other tree nuts

(Infant and Newborn Nutrition, NIH)

A type of chemical found in small amounts in plants and certain foods (such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, oils, and whole grains).

(Bioactive compound, NCI Dictionary)

People who regularly eat nuts, including peanuts, walnuts and tree nuts, have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease compared to people who never or almost never eat nuts.

(Eating Regular Variety of Nuts Associated with Lower Risk of Heart Disease, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The oil extracted from the nuts of Gevuina avellana.

(Chilean Hazelnut Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine enrolled 48 participants aged 4 to 15 years with confirmed allergy to multiple foods, including milk, egg, wheat, soy, sesame seeds, peanut or tree nuts.

(Omalizumab improves efficacy of oral immunotherapy for multiple food allergies, National Institutes of Health)

Officials also noted that people ate more processed meats and did not consume enough nuts, seeds or milk.

(Poor Diet Kills More People Than Smoking, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

“There is a little nut for you to crack, Master Holmes.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)