1. a tool with two hinged arms used for cracking open nuts
2. a wooden toy soldier figure, especially one featured in the Christmas ballet
3. a type of bird that feeds on nuts and seeds, found in mountainous regions

Examples

• She used the nutcracker to open the walnuts for the cake.
• The metal nutcracker left shell fragments scattered on the table.
• Children love watching The Nutcracker ballet during the holidays.
• The wooden nutcracker stood guard on the mantelpiece.
• We saw a Clark’s nutcracker gathering pine nuts in the forest.
• The nutcracker cached seeds in the bark of trees for winter.
• My grandmother’s silver nutcracker was passed down through generations.