callus
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kaluhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkæləs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction (as the sole of the foot)
A hardened area of the skin (especially on the foot or hand) caused by repeated friction, wear or use.
The material of repair in fractures of bone; a substance exuded at the site of fracture, which is at first soft or cartilaginous in consistency, but is ultimately converted into true bone and unites the fragments into a single piece.
verb
intransitive
To form such hardened tissue.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction (as the sole of the foot)
Used this way, callus is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use callus
- “The long march had callused his feet.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.