Protrude Meaning
/pɹəˈtɹuːd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo extend from, above or beyond a surface or boundary; to bulge outward; to stick out.
verbTo cause (something) to extend above, beyond, or from a boundary or surface; to cause (something) to project or stick out.
Sentence Examples
In this type of break, the bone will actually protrude from the skin.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The loose nail began to ____ from the wooden board, causing a safety hazard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The nail had begun to ____ from the floorboard and needed to be hammered back down immediately.
Word Origin & History
Learned borrowing from Latin prōtrūdere, the present active infinitive of prōtrūdō (“to push or thrust forwards; to protrude”), from prō- (“prefix denoting a forward direction or movement”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (“forward; toward”)) + trūdō (“to push, shove, thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to push, thrust”)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"With thoſe that ſtretcht along the Weſtern Coaſt; / To whom the old Creonian Towns were loſt, / Where high Epidium midſt th' Hibernian Waves, / Protrudes his Head, and all their Monſters braves."
— 1695, Richard Blackmore, “Book IX”, in Prince Arthur. An Heroick Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Awnsham and John Churchil […], →OCLC, page 267:
"He, when young Spring protrudes the burſting gems, / Marks the firſt bud, and ſucks the healthful gale / Into his freſhen'd ſoul; […]"
— 1730, James Thomson, “Autumn. Inscribed to the Right Honourable Arthur Onslow, Esq; Speaker of the House of Commons.”, in The Seasons, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 185, lines 1213–1215:
"Before me soared the great promontory of Penmaen Mawr, protruding itself into the sea […]"
— 1781, Thomas Pennant, A Tour in Wales, volume 2, London, page 303:
"Mr Hawley's disgust at the notion of the 'Pioneer' being edited by an emissary, and of Brooke becoming actively political—as if a tortoise of desultory pursuits should protrude its small head ambitiously and become rampant—was hardly equal to the annoyance felt by some members of Mr Brooke's own family."
— 1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XXXVII, in Middlemarch […], volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book IV, pages 247–248:
"Then […] I perceived something stir. I made a run for this, but before I reached it a brown object separated itself, rose on two muddy legs and protruded two drooping, bleeding hands."
— 1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The First Making of Cavorite”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, →OCLC, page 31:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The loose nail began to ____ from the wooden board, causing a safety hazard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The nail had begun to ____ from the floorboard and needed to be hammered back down immediately.