Meaning & use
walnut
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Meanings
nouncountable
The edible nut of a walnut tree, with a hard, wrinkled shell and a rich flavor.
Grammar: Countable when referring to individual nuts: 'a walnut', 'some walnuts'.
Patterns
- a walnut
- shell walnuts
- chopped walnuts
She added chopped walnuts to the salad for extra crunch.
I cracked open a walnut and ate the nut inside.
Walnuts are a good source of healthy fats.
nouncountable
The tree that produces walnuts, often grown for its nuts and wood.
Grammar: Countable when referring to the tree: 'a walnut', 'walnut trees'.
Patterns
- a walnut tree
- plant a walnut
They planted a walnut in their backyard.
The old walnut provides shade in the summer.
noununcountable
The hard, dark wood of the walnut tree, used for making furniture.
Grammar: Uncountable when referring to the material: 'made of walnut'.
Patterns
- made of walnut
- walnut furniture
The dining table is made of solid walnut.
He carved the bowl from a piece of walnut.
Word forms
| plural | walnuts |
|---|
Common combinations
- walnut tree
- The walnut tree in the park is over a hundred years old.
- walnut oil
- She drizzled walnut oil over the pasta.
- shelled walnuts
- I bought a bag of shelled walnuts for baking.
- walnut furniture
- The antique shop specializes in walnut furniture.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nut
- Nut is a general term for any hard-shelled fruit; walnut is a specific type of nut.
Word family
- walnut adjective
- Used before a noun to describe something made of walnut wood or flavored with walnuts, e.g., 'walnut cake'.
Commonly confused: walnut or peanut?
walnut vs peanut
A peanut is a legume, not a true nut, and is smaller and lighter in flavor than a walnut.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'The table is made of _____, a dark wood prized for its rich grain.'
Choose one answer.
'Walnut' is used as an uncountable noun for the wood material, so no article or plural is needed. 'Walnuts' would refer to the nuts, not the wood, and 'a walnut' or 'the walnut' would refer to a single nut or tree, not the material.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “walnut”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.