Meaning & use
a walrus
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“a walrus” is a form of “walrus”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
A large sea mammal with two long tusks, a thick mustache-like bristle pad, and flippers, living in cold Arctic waters.
Grammar: Countable: use "a walrus" for one, "walruses" for two or more.
Patterns
- a walrus lives in something
- a herd of walruses
A walrus uses its tusks to pull itself out of the icy water.
We saw a walrus resting on the beach with about twenty others nearby.
The zoo's new walrus is fed fish several times a day.
noununcountable
The thick grayish-brown skin, ivory, or meat of this animal, used by Arctic peoples.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the material: say "walrus ivory," not "a walrus ivory."
Patterns
- walrus ivory
- walrus hide
The knife handle was carved from walrus ivory.
Traditional boots were often made of walrus hide.
Word forms
| plural | walruses |
|---|---|
| plural | walrus |
Common combinations
- a herd of walruses
- A herd of walruses hauled themselves onto the ice.
- walrus tusks
- The male's walrus tusks can grow very long.
- walrus mustache
- He has a big walrus mustache that hides his mouth.
- Arctic walrus
- Arctic walrus populations are watched closely by scientists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- seal
- A seal is a similar sea mammal but has no long tusks, so use "seal" for the smaller, tuskless animal.
- sea lion
- A sea lion is a seal-like animal with visible ear flaps and no tusks, common in warmer waters.
Word family
- walrus noun
- The base noun, used for one or more animals and for the material.
Commonly confused: a walrus or seal? a walrus or hippopotamus?
a walrus vs seal
Seals are related but lack the two long tusks and the bristly face pad that a walrus has.
a walrus vs hippopotamus
A hippopotamus is a large tusked animal too, but it lives in African rivers, not in the Arctic sea.
Practice
Which sentence uses the noun correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Walruses" is the usual plural of the countable noun, so option A fits. Option B uses the singular after a number, C adds a possessive ending, and D repeats the article, so none of them works.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a walrus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.