hyoid

American  

[hahy-oid] / ˈhaɪ ɔɪd /

adjective

1. Also hyoidal hyoidean noting or pertaining to a U -shaped bone at the root of the tongue in humans, or a corresponding bone or collection of bones in animals.

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noun

1. the hyoid bone.

hyoid British  

/ ˈhaɪɔɪd /

adjective

1. of or relating to the hyoid bone

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noun

1. the horseshoe-shaped bone that lies at the base of the tongue and above the thyroid cartilage

2. a corresponding bone or group of bones in other vertebrates

Other Word Forms

• posthyoid
  adjective
• subhyoid
  adjective
• subhyoidean
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of hyoid

1700–10; < New Latin hȳoïdes < Greek hȳoeidḗs, shaped like the letter hypsilon (i.e. upsilon), equivalent to hȳ- (derivative of letter name hŷ, variant of ŷ; see upsilon) + -oeidēs -oid

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hyoid

To determine the animal's age at death, they examined a rarely studied bone known as the ceratobranchial, or hyoid, which was preserved with the skull.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026

"The growth series in our Dino Hall was critical to demonstrating that the hyoid in Tyrannosaurus showed the same kind of growth record as long bones," Morris explained.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 9, 2025

Another gill arch eventually evolved into a head bone called the hyoid.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 1, 2023

When fish feed, muscles supporting these structures generate suction by depressing and retracting the hyoid and expanding the gill slits to draw water in.

From Science Magazine ● May 24, 2023

To allow space for the hyoid, the sides of the lower jaw are very deep and expanded.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various

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