Nut

n. [ OE. nute, note, AS. hnutu; akin to D. noot, G. nuss, OHG. nuz, Icel. hnot, Sw. nöt, Dan. nöd. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Bot.) The fruit of certain trees and shrubs (as of the almond, walnut, hickory, beech, filbert, etc.), consisting of a hard and indehiscent shell inclosing a kernel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A perforated block (usually a small piece of metal), provided with an internal or female screw thread, used on a bolt, or screw, for tightening or holding something, or for transmitting motion. See Illust. of 1st Bolt. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The tumbler of a gunlock. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) A projection on each side of the shank of an anchor, to secure the stock in place. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. pl. Testicles. [ vulgar slang ] [ PJC ]

Check nut,
Jam nut,
Lock nut, a nut which is screwed up tightly against another nut on the same bolt or screw, in order to prevent accidental unscrewing of the first nut. --
Nut buoy. See under Buoy. --
Nut coal, screened coal of a size smaller than stove coal and larger than pea coal; -- called also chestnut coal. --
Nut crab (Zool.), any leucosoid crab of the genus Ebalia as, Ebalia tuberosa of Europe. --
Nut grass (Bot.), See nut grass in the vocabulary. --
Nut lock, a device, as a metal plate bent up at the corners, to prevent a nut from becoming unscrewed, as by jarring. --
Nut pine. (Bot.) See under Pine. --
Nut rush (Bot.), a genus of cyperaceous plants (Scleria) having a hard bony achene. Several species are found in the United States and many more in tropical regions. --
Nut tree, a tree that bears nuts. --
Nut weevil (Zool.), any species of weevils of the genus Balaninus and other allied genera, which in the larval state live in nuts. [ 1913 Webster ]