Meaning & use
calluses
Last updated
“calluses” is a form of “callus”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Thick, hardened areas of skin that form where the skin is repeatedly rubbed or pressed.
Grammar: Countable: you can have one callus or several calluses. The singular is callus.
Patterns
- have calluses
- get calluses
- calluses on something
After months of playing guitar, she developed calluses on her fingertips.
He has calluses on his hands from working in the garden.
The shoes were too tight and gave me calluses on my heels.
nouncountablemedical
A mass of new tissue that forms around a broken bone as it heals.
Grammar: Technical use in medicine; often appears in the phrase 'callus formation'.
Patterns
- callus formation
- a callus forms
The X-ray showed a callus forming around the fracture.
Doctors monitored the callus to make sure the bone was healing properly.
Word forms
| singular | callus |
|---|
Common combinations
- develop calluses
- Runners often develop calluses on their feet.
- form calluses
- If you lift weights regularly, your hands will form calluses.
- painful calluses
- She had painful calluses on her toes from wearing high heels.
- calluses on your hands
- You can tell he works with his hands by the calluses on his hands.
Synonyms and how they differ
- corn
- A corn is a specific painful area of hard skin, often on a toe, while a callus is a broader area of thickened skin.
Word family
- callus noun
- The singular form; one area of thickened skin.
- callused adjective
- Having calluses; e.g., callused hands.
Commonly confused: calluses or callous?
calluses vs callous
Callous is an adjective meaning unkind and without sympathy; callus (and its plural calluses) is the noun for hardened skin.
Practice
Choose the correct word: 'After years of rowing, he had ___ on his hands.'
Choose one answer.
The noun 'calluses' fits because it refers to the hardened areas of skin. 'Callous' is an adjective meaning unkind, 'calloused' is an adjective meaning having calluses, and 'callously' is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “calluses”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.