clavicle

[ klav-i-kuhl ]

nounAnatomy, Zoology.
  1. a bone of the pectoral arch.

  2. (in humans) either of two slender bones, each articulating with the sternum and a scapula and forming the anterior part of a shoulder; collarbone.

Origin of clavicle

1
1605–15; <Medieval Latin clāvicula collarbone, Latin: tendril, door-bolt, little key, equivalent to clāvi(s) key + -cula-cule1

Other words from clavicle

  • cla·vic·u·lar [kluh-vik-yuh-ler], /kləˈvɪk yə lər/, adjective
  • cla·vic·u·late [kluh-vik-yuh-leyt], /kləˈvɪk yəˌleɪt/, adjective
  • sub·cla·vic·u·lar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clavicle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for clavicle

clavicle

/ (ˈklævɪkəl) /


noun
  1. either of the two bones connecting the shoulder blades with the upper part of the breastbone: Nontechnical name: collarbone

  2. the corresponding structure in other vertebrates

Origin of clavicle

1
C17: from Medieval Latin clāvicula, from Latin clāvis key

Derived forms of clavicle

  • clavicular (kləˈvɪkjʊlə), adjective
  • claviculate (kləˈvɪkjʊˌleɪt), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for clavicle

clavicle

[ klăvĭ-kəl ]


  1. Either of two slender bones that extend from the upper part of the sternum (breastbone) to the shoulder. Also called collarbone

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.