1. a large Arctic sea animal with two long pointed teeth (tusks) that stick out fro
1.nounA2
Definition
a large Arctic sea animal with two long pointed teeth (tusks) that stick out from its mouth, thick wrinkled skin, and stiff hairs around its nose, living on ice and coastlines in cold northern waters
Example
Aylin saw a huge walrus lying on the ice during her trip to Alaska.
prepositional phrase: on the ice (habitat)
The zoo keeper fed fish to the old walrus while visitors watched through the glass.
indirect object with to: fed fish to [animal]
Walruses use their long tusks to pull themselves up onto ice and to fight.
use + body part + to-infinitive purpose clause
Anong read that a full-grown walrus can weigh more than a small car.
another type of marine mammal with visible ears and flippers; walruses differ by having no visible ears and much longer tusks
Common Mistakes
I saw a walrus at the zoo — it looked like a big seal with no teeth.
I saw a walrus at the zoo
it had two long tusks sticking out from its mouth.' — Walruses are known for their long tusks; confusing them with toothless seals is a common mix-up.
A group of walrus were swimming near the boat.
A group of walruses were swimming near the boat.
The plural of walrus is walruses (not walrus).
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Walrus, seal, and sea lion are all large marine mammals in the suborder Pinnipedia, but they are easy to tell apart. Walruses have two long ivory tusks that no seal or sea lion has, and their skin is wrinkled with stiff whiskers. Seals have no visible ears and move on land by wiggling their bodies, while sea lions have visible ear flaps and can walk on all four flippers. Walruses are also much heavier — a male walrus can weigh over 1,500 kilograms, roughly twice as much as a large sea lion. For example: 'The walrus used its tusks to pull itself onto the ice,' but 'The seal slid into the water without a sound,' and 'The sea lion balanced a ball on its nose at the show.'
The word walrus came into English from Dutch 'walrus', which was probably a combination of 'wal' (whale) and 'ros' (horse) — literally meaning 'whale-horse' or 'sea-horse'. This reflects early sailors' impression of the animal as a large sea creature that looked somewhat like a horse with tusks.