Definition

1. Noun:

   • A hard-shelled seed: A dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a tough, woody shell. Examples include walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts.
   • A metal block with a threaded hole: A small, typically hexagonal piece of metal with an internal screw thread, designed to be screwed onto a bolt to fasten things together.
   • A person who is very enthusiastic about something: (Informal) Someone who is extremely and ardently devoted to a particular activity, subject, or hobby.
   • A foolish, eccentric, or crazy person: (Slang) A person who behaves in a silly, irrational, or insane manner.
   • (Vulgar slang) A testicle.

2. Verb:

   • To gather nuts: To search for and collect nuts, typically from the ground or from trees.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Seed):
  • Squirrels store nuts for the winter.
  • She added chopped nuts to the cookie dough.
• Noun (Metal fastener):
  • Tighten the nut onto the bolt with a wrench.
• Noun (Enthusiastic person):
  • He's a real film nut; he watches three movies a day.
• Noun (Crazy person):
  • That guy is a complete nut; he was shouting at the traffic.
• Verb:
  • In autumn, we would go nutting in the woods.

Advanced Usage

• "A tough/hard nut to crack": A difficult problem to solve or a person who is hard to deal with or understand.
  • This math equation is a tough nut to crack.
  • The suspect is a hard nut; he won't answer any questions.
• "Off one's nut": (Slang) Crazy or insane.
  • He must be off his nut to try something so dangerous.
• "Nuts and bolts": The basic, practical details of something.
  • Let's move from theory to the nuts and bolts of how the machine works.

Variants and Related Words

• Nutty (adj): Tasting like nuts; (informal) crazy or eccentric.
  • This cheese has a nutty flavor.
  • He has some nutty ideas about time travel.
• Nutcase (n, slang): A crazy or eccentric person.
• Nutcracker (n): A tool for cracking the shells of nuts.
• Nutmeg (n): A spice made from the seed of a tropical tree.

Synonyms

• Seed/Kernel: For the edible part of a nut.
• Enthusiast / Fanatic / Buff: For a devoted person (e.g., ).
• Lunatic / Maniac: (Informal) For a crazy person.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Nut out (Informal, chiefly Australian/British): To figure something out by thinking hard.
  • We need to nut out a solution to this problem.

Related Idioms

• "In a nutshell": Concisely; stated in the fewest possible words.
  • To put it in a nutshell, the project failed due to poor planning.
• "For peanuts": For a very small amount of money.
  • He's a skilled programmer, but they hired him for peanuts.
• "Drive someone nuts": To annoy or irritate someone greatly.
  • The constant noise from the construction is driving me nuts.

Noun

1. one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens
   • she kicked him in the balls and got away
2. someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction
   • a golf addict
   • a car nut
   • a bodybuilding freak
   • a news junkie
3. a whimsically eccentric person
4. half the width of an em
5. a small (usually square or hexagonal) metal block with internal screw thread to be fitted onto a bolt
6. Egyptian goddess of the sky
7. usually large hard-shelled seed

Verb

1. gather nuts