jugular

[ juhg-yuh-ler, joo-gyuh- ]
See synonyms for jugular on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. Anatomy.

    • of or relating to the throat or neck.

    • noting or pertaining to any of certain large veins of the neck, especially one (external jugular vein ) collecting blood from the superficial parts of the head or one (internal jugular vein ) collecting blood from within the skull.

  2. (of a fish) having the pelvic fins at the throat, before the pectoral fins.

noun
  1. Anatomy. a jugular vein.

Idioms about jugular

  1. go for the jugular, to attack a vital and vulnerable trait, feature, element, etc., in an attempt to overcome somebody or something swiftly and totally: The defense attorney went right for the jugular by attempting to destroy the witness's credibility.

Origin of jugular

1
1590–1600; <Late Latin jugulāris, equivalent to Latin jugul(um) throat (see jugulate) + -āris-ar1

Other words from jugular

  • in·ter·jug·u·lar, adjective
  • post·jug·u·lar, adjective
  • sub·jug·u·lar, adjective

Words that may be confused with jugular

Words Nearby jugular

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

How to use jugular in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jugular

jugular

/ (ˈdʒʌɡjʊlə) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or situated near the throat or neck

  2. of, having, or denoting pelvic fins situated in front of the pectoral fins: a jugular fish

noun
  1. short for jugular vein

  2. go for the jugular to make a savage and destructive attack on an enemy's weakest point

Origin of jugular

1
C16: from Late Latin jugulāris, from Latin jugulum throat

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with jugular

jugular

see go for, def. 4.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.