cannon bone


nounZoology.
  1. the greatly developed middle metacarpal or metatarsal bone of hoofed quadruped mammals, extending from the hock to the fetlock.

Origin of cannon bone

1
1825–35; cannon in obsolete sense “tube”

Words Nearby cannon bone

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

How to use cannon bone in a sentence

  • The “cannon bone” answers to the middle bone of the five metacarpal bones, which support the palm of the hand in ourselves.

  • The 'cannon bone' answers to the middle bone of the five metacarpal bones which support the palm of the hand in ourselves.

    Darwinism (1889) | Alfred Russel Wallace
  • The cannon bone is the bone that extends from the fetlock to the knee , which, in the horse, corresponds to our wrist.

    The Horsewoman | Alice M. Hayes
  • The suspensory ligament is the fibrous cord which lies between the cannon bone and the back tendons.

    The Horsewoman | Alice M. Hayes
  • The hock is the large and freely movable joint which is immediately above the hind cannon-bone.

    The Horsewoman | Alice M. Hayes

British Dictionary definitions for cannon bone

cannon bone

noun
  1. a bone in the legs of horses and other hoofed animals consisting of greatly elongated fused metatarsals or metacarpals

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