tusker

noun

tusk·​er ˈtə-skər How to pronounce tusker (audio)
: an animal with tusks
especially : a male elephant with two normally developed tusks

Examples of tusker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Beard, who had been gored by an elephant in 1996, died like an old tusker going to the elephants’ graveyard. Dominic Green, WSJ, 4 Aug. 2023 Africa's largest female tusker elephant has died. CBS News, 2 Nov. 2022 Thwarting poaching Opportunities for witnessing a big tusker in its natural habitat are dwindling, according to Kyalo. Daryl Brown, CNN, 28 Nov. 2022 And yet, this somewhat menacing-looking feature is also what makes a tusker so vulnerable. Daryl Brown, CNN, 28 Nov. 2022 Kenyans are mourning the loss of their African elephant queen, Dida, who was believed to be the continent's largest female tusker. Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2022 From the spirit of the smallest hummingbird to the largest super-tusker, the divine in you recognizes the divine and them — differently powerful, but equally important. Shayna Conde, Allure, 28 Feb. 2022 The carcass evidence suggests that poachers in Botswana have concentrated on tuskers, the older bulls most likely to have the largest tusks. National Geographic, 13 June 2019 No major temple festival or procession—Kerala has over 10,000 of them annually— is complete without a tusker. Sangeeta Tanwar, Quartz India, 13 June 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tusker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tusker was in 1846

Dictionary Entries Near tusker

Cite this Entry

“Tusker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tusker. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tusker

noun
tusk·​er ˈtəs-kər How to pronounce tusker (audio)
: an animal with tusks
especially : a male elephant with two normally developed tusks
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