# walrus

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwɔːl.ɹəs/ · frequency rank #29,886

## Definitions
1. A large Arctic marine mammal related to seals and having long tusks, tough, wrinkled skin, and four flippers, Odobenus rosmarus.
2. A man with a walrus moustache.

## Etymology
Probably borrowed from Dutch walrus, a compound of wal (“whale”) and ros (“horse”). Displaced native Old English horshwæl (literally “horse-whale”). Compare similar constructions in Danish hvalros, Old Norse hrosshvalr, and German Walross.

## Easily confused with
- **wars** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walrus-vs-wars)
- **wares** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walrus-vs-wares)
- **walls** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walls-vs-walrus)
- **Wales** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-walrus)
- **walks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walks-vs-walrus)
- **walnut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/walnut-vs-walrus)
- **Wallis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wallis-vs-walrus)

## Common misspellings (9)
`awlrus`, `wallrus`, `walrrus`, `walrsu`, `walruss`, `walurs`, `warlus`, `wlarus`, `wwalrus`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/walrus