The AI-powered English dictionary
plural husks
The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside. examples
Any form of useless, dried-up, and subsequently worthless exterior of something. quotations examples
Unlike dogs, cats have retractable claws which do not wear down when walking. Instead, cats pull the old husk of nail from their claws by raking them down some convenient piece of wood, to expose a new sharp claw underneath.
1991, Morgan Kerr, Norman Kerr, An Introduction to Cat Care, page 63
The supporting frame of a run of millstones. examples
third-person singular simple present husks, present participle husking, simple past and past participle husked
(transitive) To remove husks from. examples
uncountable
An infection in cattle caused by a species of Dictyocaulus or lungworm quotations examples
The symptoms of Husk are a constant cough, rapid loss of flesh, difficulty in breathing and, in the later stages, loss of appetite and diarrhœa.
1876, John Walker, How to Farm with Profit Arable and Pasture Land: A Practical Manual on Modern Agriculture, London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, page 78
(intransitive) To cough, clear one's throat. quotations examples
Back on the veranda he said to Lace gravely, "I do believe that poor child's in the family way." Lace, tracing the pattern of the matting with his boot, husked, and murmured, "Yes — I think so.
1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter XI, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 181
(transitive) To say huskily, to utter in a husky voice. quotations examples
The French captain did not immediately respond; he looked at his men with a miserable expression [...]; still he hesitated, drooped, and finally husked, "Je me rends," with a look still more wretched.
2006, Naomi Novik, His Majesty's Dragon, Del Rey Books, page 5