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English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of trunk in English

trunk
noun
uk
/trʌŋk/ us
/trʌŋk/

trunk noun (MAIN PART)

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B2 [ C ]
the thick main stem of a tree, from which its branches grow
 
Olaf Protze/Contributor/LightRocket/GettyImages
[ C ]
the main part of a person's body, not including the head, legs, or arms:
The statue shows the head, trunk, and arms of an old man.
 
peepo/E+/GettyImages
[ C ]   medical   specialized
the main part of a blood vessel or nerve:
a nerve trunk injury
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Parts of plants
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

trunk noun (NOSE)

[ C ]
the long, tube-shaped nose of an elephant
 
Michelle Guillermin/EyeEm/GettyImages
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
The head & neck of non-human animals
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trunk noun (CONTAINER)

[ C ]
a large, strong container that is used for storing clothes and personal possessions, often when travelling or going to live in a new place
 
gavran333/iStock/Getty Image Plus/GettyImages
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
General and miscellaneous containers
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trunk noun (CAR)

B1 [ C ] US
(UK boot)
a covered space at the back of a car, for storing things in:
I always keep a blanket and a toolkit in the trunk for emergencies.
Stolen goods were found in the trunk of her car.
 
Emirhan Karamuk/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
The exterior of vehicles
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trunk noun (CLOTHES)

trunks
UK or old-fashioned US
(UK also swimming trunks)
a piece of men's clothing that covers the hips and bottom and the top part of the legs and is worn when swimming
 
ConstantinosZ/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages
a piece of men's underwear that covers the hips and bottom and the top part of the legs
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Sportswear & swimwear
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(Definition of trunk from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

trunk | American Dictionary

trunk
noun [ C ]
us
/trʌŋk/

trunk noun [C] (MAIN PART)

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the thick main stem of a tree, from which the branches grow
A person’s trunk is the main part of the body, not including the head, legs, or arms.

trunk noun [C] (NOSE)

an elephant’s nose, which is like a long tube that bends easily

trunk noun [C] (STORAGE SPACE)

a closed space at the back of a car where things can be stored
A trunk is also a large, strong case used to store or transport clothes and other possessions.
(Definition of trunk from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of trunk

trunk
In the trunk region, several signaling pathways and transcription factors have been implicated in cell fate decisions of neural crest.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The arterial trunks both arose from the right ventricle with the aorta in right-sided position.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
When there is only one arterial trunk, and it gives rise to both systemic and pulmonary arteries, it is defined as a common arterial trunk.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
A solitary arterial trunk is described when it is not possible to define the connection of the pulmonary arteries to the heart.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This roughly restores the circumference of the proximal pulmonary trunk bearing the two coronary arteries to what it was before developing the flaps.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Patients with common arterial trunk with nonconfluent pulmonary arteries, however, were excluded.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Both pulmonary arteries took theirorigins from the posterior aspect of this trunk.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The distance between the posteriorly located pulmonary trunk and the aortic arch and descending aorta was shorter than in cases with concordant connections.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This region led to the pulmonary trunk but the ventriculoarterial junction was unguarded.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Leaves are shed at the end of the rainy or in the early dry season and trunks rehydrate.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The pulmonary trunk was prominent in 15 (75%) and, in one patient with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect, there was a rightsided aortic arch.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The diameter of the pulmonary trunk diameter was measured at the midpoint between the pulmonary valve and the bifurcation.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
E: the ratio of the pitch moments is set as 0.7 for the trunk to shake largely front-to-back.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We report a most unusual course of a left coronary artery originating from the pulmonary trunk 3 and discuss the clinical implications.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Such changes of the walls of the arterial trunks, however, were not discovered in our patient.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of trunk?
 

Translations of trunk

in Chinese (Traditional)
主要部分, 樹幹, （人體的）軀幹…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
主要部分, 树干, （人体的）躯干…
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in Spanish
tronco, trompa, maletero…
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in Portuguese
tronco, tromba, porta-malas…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
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in Malay
in German
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in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
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in Italian
खोड, धड, गाडीतील सामान ठेवण्याची जागा…
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木の幹, （車の）トランク, 象の鼻…
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gövde, ağaç gövdesi, bagaj…
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tronc [masculine], coffre [masculine], malle [feminine]…
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tronc, maleter, trompa…
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stam, koffer, slurf…
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ஒரு மரத்தின் அடர்த்தியான பிரதான தண்டு, அதிலிருந்து கிளைகள் வளரும், தலை…
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पेड़ का तना, इंसानी धड़, (सामान आदि रखने के लिए गाड़ी के पीछे की जगह) डिक्की…
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ઝાડનું થડ, માનવ ધડ, ડીકી…
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træstamme, kiste, snabel…
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stam, koffert, trunk…
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batang, peti, belalai…
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der Stamm, der Schrankkoffer, der Rüssel…
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stamme [masculine], bagasjerom [neuter], kasse [masculine]…
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درخت کا تنا, دھڑ (جسم کا خاص حصہ, جس میں سر اور ہاتھ پیر شامل نہیں)…
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стовбур, валіза, дорожня скриня…
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చెట్టుబోదె, ఒక మనిషి యొక్క తలయును అవయవములును తప్ప తక్కినదేహభాగము, మొండెము…
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গাছের গুঁড়ি, মাথা বা হাত অথবা পা বাদ দিয়ে একজন ব্যক্তির শরীরের প্রধান অংশ, ট্রাঙ্ক…
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kmen, (lodní) kufr, chobot…
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batang pohon, peti, belalai…
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ลำต้น, หีบใส่ของ, งวง…
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thân cây, va li, vòi của con voi…
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pień, bagażnik, trąba…
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나무의 몸통, 자동차 트렁크, 코끼리 코…
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tronco, portabagagli, proboscide…
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trundle bed
trundle something out phrasal verb
trundled
trundling
trunk
trunk road
trunking
trunks
truss

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smooth something over

UK
/smuːð/
US
/smuːð/

to make problems, difficulties, or disagreements less serious or easier to solve, usually by talking to the people involved

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