What does "husk" mean?
The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.
Husk
/hʌsk/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.
- Grammar: husk is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: afterglow, afterimage, balance, bark.
- Useful contrasts: core, cover, enclose.
- Usage evidence: He's just a husk of his former self.
How to use "husk"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "husk" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "husk" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "husk" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "husk" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "husk" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "afterglow" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "husk", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.
"A coconut has a very thick husk."
- 2 An infection in cattle caused by a species of Dictyocaulus or lungworm uncountable
"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."
- 3 outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds wordnet
- 4 Any form of useless, dried up, and subsequently worthless exterior of something. figuratively
"His attorney was a dried-up husk of a man."
- 5 material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 The supporting frame of a run of millstones.
Verb
- 1 To remove husks from. transitive
- 2 To cough, clear one's throat. intransitive
"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."
- 3 remove the husks from wordnet
- 4 To say huskily, to utter in a husky voice. transitive
"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."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"He's just a husk of his former self."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "husk"?
Common synonyms include: afterglow, afterimage, balance, bark, boll, bones.
How do you use "husk" in a sentence?
He's just a husk of his former self.
How do you pronounce "husk"?
Pronounced /hʌsk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English huske, husk (“husk”). Perhaps from Old English *husuc, *hosuc (“little covering, sheath”), diminutive of hosu (“pod, shell, husk”), from Proto-West Germanic *hosā, from Proto-Germanic *husǭ (“covering, shell, leggings”), from Proto-Indo-European *kawəs- / kawes- (“cover”). If so, equivalent to hose + -ock. Alternatively from Middle Low German hûs(e)ken, hü̂seken (“little house, sheath”), Middle Dutch husekijn (“little house, core of fruit, case”), diminutive of hûs (“house”). Compare Dutch huisje, German Häuschen, both also used for “snailshell”.
Etymology 2
Partly imitative, partly from Etymology 1, above, influenced by husky.