Meaning & use
trunk of elephant
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
The long, flexible nose of an elephant, used for breathing, smelling, grasping, and making sounds.
Grammar: Often replaced by the possessive 'an elephant's trunk' or simply 'trunk' when the context is clear.
Patterns
- the trunk of an elephant
- an elephant's trunk
The trunk of an elephant can pick up a single blade of grass.
In the wild, an elephant uses its trunk to spray water on its back.
The zookeeper explained that the trunk of an elephant contains over 40,000 muscles.
Common combinations
- elephant's trunk
- The elephant's trunk curled around the branch and pulled it down.
- use its trunk
- The elephant used its trunk to reach the fruit high in the tree.
- long trunk
- A long trunk helps the animal gather food from the ground.
Synonyms and how they differ
- proboscis
- Technical term for a long, flexible nose-like organ; used in biology for elephants and some insects.
Word family
- trunk noun
- The short form, also used for the main stem of a tree or a large suitcase.
Commonly confused: trunk of elephant or tusk?
trunk of elephant vs tusk
A tusk is a long, pointed tooth, not the nose. Elephants have both a trunk and tusks.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'trunk of elephant' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase requires the article 'an' before 'elephant' in the singular. Option 0 is missing the article, option 2 uses a plural verb with a singular subject, and option 3 has a plural verb with a singular subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trunk of elephant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.