Syn. — To nourish; nurse; cherish; bring up; educate; tend. — To Nurture, Nourish, Cherish. Nourish
denotes to supply with food, or cause to grow; as, to nourish a plant, to nourish rebellion. To nurture
is to train up with a fostering care, like that of a mother; as, to nurture into strength; to nurture in sound
principles. To cherish is to hold and treat as dear; as, to cherish hopes or affections.
Nustle
(Nus"tle) v. t. [Cf. Nuzzle.] To fondle; to cherish. [Obs.]
Nut
(Nut) n. [OE. nute, note, AS. hnutu; akin to D. noot, G. nuss, OHG. nuz, Icel. hnot, Sw. nöt,
Dan. nöd.]
1. (Bot.) The fruit of certain trees and shrubs consisting of a hard and indehiscent shell inclosing a
kernel.
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
lst Bolt.
3. The tumbler of a gunlock. Knight.
4. (Naut.) A projection on each side of the shank of an anchor, to secure the stock in place.
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 (Zoöl.), any leucosoid crab of the genus Ebalia as, Ebalia tuberosa of
Europe. — Nut grass (Bot.), a plant of the Sedge family (Cyperus rotundus, var. Hydra), which has
slender rootstocks bearing small, nutlike tubers, by which the plant multiplies exceedingly, especially
in cotton fields. — 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
(Zoöl.), any species of weevils of the genus Balaninus and other allied genera, which in the larval state
live in nuts.
Nut
(Nut), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Nutted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Nutting.] To gather nuts.