maxilla
a jaw or jawbone, especially the upper.
one of the paired appendages immediately behind the mandibles of arthropods.
Origin of maxilla
1Words Nearby maxilla
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use maxilla in a sentence
Inside the fly’s head are protractor and retractor muscles, pulling and pushing at the base of the maxillae.
Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires | Erica McAlister | October 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThe pars facialis and frontal process of the maxilla are greatly reduced.
The palatine process of the nasal does not meet the frontal process of the maxilla.
The maxillary palpi vary in number, many having two on each maxilla and others only one.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4) | William KirbyOne or more corneous sharp claws which arm the lobes of the maxilla.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4) | William Kirby
Toes four, three front ones webbed; bill thin and blade like, the maxilla longer than the mandible; tail slightly forked.
Color Key to North American Birds | Frank M. Chapman
British Dictionary definitions for maxilla
/ (mækˈsɪlə) /
the upper jawbone in vertebrates: See jaw (def. 1)
any member of one or two pairs of mouthparts in insects and other arthropods used as accessory jaws
Origin of maxilla
1Derived forms of maxilla
- maxillar (mækˈsɪlə) or maxillary, 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 maxilla
[ măk-sĭl′ə ]
The upper part of the jaw in vertebrate animals.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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