Kernel

Definition of kernel:

part of speech: noun

Anything in a husk or shell: the substance in the shell of a nut: the seed of a pulpy fruit.

part of speech: noun

The inner part of a seed containing the embryo.

part of speech: noun

A grain or seed; the eatable substance of a nut or fruit stone; the part of anything which is most full of meaning.

part of speech: noun

Anything in a shell; substance in the shell of a nut.

Usage examples for kernel:

• She had looked up 'joust' in the dictionary, and it seemed to her that in these few words was contained the kernel of her trouble. "The Man Upstairs and Other Stories", P. G. Wodehouse.

• This was the officer who was commonly known in his time as " Vinegar" Parker; but these letters show that the epithet fitted the rind rather than the kernel "The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence", A. T. Mahan.

• You do detect an occasional kernel of sense, Edwards?" "Left End Edwards", Ralph Henry Barbour.

• Thinness, 10 Cracking quality, 20 Kernel characters. "The Pecan and its Culture", H. Harold Hume.