occipital

American  

[ok-sip-i-tl] / ɒkˈsɪp ɪ tl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated near the occiput or the occipital bone.

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noun

1. any of several parts of the occiput, especially the occipital bone.

occipital British  

/ ɒkˈsɪpɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the back of the head or skull

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noun

1. short for occipital bone

Other Word Forms

• preoccipital
  adjective
• superoccipital
  adjective
• occipitally
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of occipital

1535–45; < Medieval Latin occipitālis, equivalent to Latin occipit- (stem of occiput ) occiput + -ālis -al ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

occipital

Participants who spent a large portion of their workday sitting actually had larger frontal and occipital lobes and lower white matter hyperintensity volumes.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

The occipital lobe is the visual processing area of the brain and a stroke in this area can cause an array of visual impairments.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2025

In a post on social media, external-link Roebuck said tests found she had suffered a "left occipital infarct" but there was no lasting damage to her brain or vision.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2024

A study published last year in the Journal of Neuroscience revealed that canines’ brain has a direct connection between their olfactory bulb, which processes smell, and their occipital lobe, which processes vision.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 4, 2023

Each hemisphere has its own frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

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