triceps

[ trahy-seps ]
See synonyms for triceps on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural tri·ceps·es [trahy-sep-siz], /ˈtraɪ sɛp sɪz/, tri·ceps.Anatomy.
  1. a muscle having three heads or points of origin, especially the muscle on the back of the arm, the action of which straightens the elbow.

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Origin of triceps

1
1570–80; <Latin: three-headed, equivalent to tri-tri- + -ceps, stem -cipit- -headed, derivative of caput head

Words Nearby triceps

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

How to use triceps in a sentence

  • In this case the biceps must exert two units of strength more than the triceps, that is, seven units.

    The Psychology of Singing | David C. Taylor
  • "Set" the muscles of the arm by contracting the biceps and triceps with the utmost possible strength.

    The Psychology of Singing | David C. Taylor
  • The triceps brachii is the chief antagonist of the biceps brachii.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
  • And you find that the triceps has three origins high above its one attachment as a tendon, to give it a good strong pull.

British Dictionary definitions for triceps

triceps

/ (ˈtraɪsɛps) /


nounplural -cepses (-sɛpsɪz) or -ceps
  1. any muscle having three heads, esp the one (triceps brachii) that extends the forearm

Origin of triceps

1
C16: from Latin, from tri- + caput head

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 triceps

triceps

[ trīsĕps′ ]


  1. The muscle at the back of the upper arm that raises and lowers the forearm. The triceps has three points of attachment to bone at its origin.

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