plural cusk or cusks
1
: a large edible North Atlantic fish (Brosme brosme) of the cod family
2
: burbot

Examples of cusk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Enormous, near-vertical cliffs materialized, populated by squat lobsters, grenadier fish, cusk eels, and translucent tunicates. Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 5 July 2016 Usually found in deep water, the adult gargoyle cusk eel is extremely rare and represents the only member of its genus. Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 8 June 2022 Nicknamed in various parts of North America as ling, lawyer, cusk or mud shark — the once-lowly burbot is being elevated in Minnesota from unprotected rough fish to game fish. Tony Kennedy, Star Tribune, 14 Jan. 2021 In 2016, Eric Parmentier, Dr. Bolgan’s supervisor at the University of Liege, recorded cusk-eels growling in fiberglass tanks after sunset. Sabrina Imbler, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2020 When cod is unavailable, substitute haddock, hake, cusk, tilapia, pollock, striped bass, or white sea bass. Julia Rutland, Southern Living, 30 June 2020 Nautilus explorers stumbled upon a group of bone-eating worms, cusk eels, and octopi feasting on the skeleton of a baleen whale on the ocean floor near the coast of central California. Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 17 Oct. 2019 Part 5 will be an auditory treat featuring the mysterious sounds of the sea, from grunting haddock to singing cusk eels. Amanda Paulson, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Aug. 2019 And Mr. Haatuft works only with fishermen who pull in wild creatures like cusk, sea urchins, langoustines and mahogany clams — big specimens with thick brown shells that live for up to 400 years. Julia Moskin, New York Times, 18 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cusk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of tusk, a kind of codfish

First Known Use

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cusk was in 1616

Dictionary Entries Near cusk

Cite this Entry

“Cusk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cusk. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on cusk

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!