tusk

Tusks are long teeth that stick out beyond the mouth. People usually think of elephants first, but walruses, wild boars, and extinct animals like mammoths also had them. They are not just for show. Animals use them for digging, fighting, defense, showing strength, and sometimes pulling bark from trees or moving through their environment. Humans have also valued the ivory from some of these teeth, and that demand has caused great harm to animals such as elephants. Think of a charging elephant: those long teeth can be powerful weapons.

The word "tusk" often brings elephants to mind, but it refers more generally to a long, pointed tooth that projects well beyond the mouth. In many animals, a tusk is a greatly enlarged incisor or canine. Elephants are the best-known example, but walruses, wild boars, warthogs, narwhals, and extinct animals like mammoths are also linked with tusks. These teeth can be straight or curved, depending on the animal.

Tusks are useful tools for survival. Elephants may use them to dig for water or roots, strip bark from trees, lift objects, or defend themselves. Walruses use theirs to help pull their bodies onto ice, and wild boars use theirs in fights and for digging. Because they are so important, a broken tusk can seriously affect an animal's life.

People also use the word when talking about ivory, since ivory often comes from tusks. For that reason, the word can carry a wider sense of danger and loss: the ivory trade has led to heavy hunting and poaching, especially of elephants. So when you hear the word "tusk," think not only of a dramatic animal feature, but of a tooth that helps an animal live, fight, dig, and survive.