maxilla
Americannoun
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maxillae
plural
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a jaw or jawbone, especially the upper.
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one of the paired appendages immediately behind the mandibles of arthropods.
noun
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the upper jawbone in vertebrates See jaw
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any member of one or two pairs of mouthparts in insects and other arthropods used as accessory jaws
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maxillae
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of maxilla
1670–80; < New Latin, special use of Latin maxilla lower jaw, diminutive of māla (< *maxlā ) upper jaw, cheekbone
Vocabulary lists containing maxilla
Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“The injuries I suffered led to a long and difficult recovery that I am still trying to recover from, including treatment for a severe traumatic brain injury, a shattered maxilla and a bone graft procedure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The Maori and Moriori skeletal remains, including skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were largely collected by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek from 1877 to 1889.
From Reuters ● Oct. 2, 2022
The skeletal remains, which include skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were handed over in an official ceremony in Vienna on Tuesday, where there was a panel and presentation.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2022
“The orthodontists assumed that, because the mandible looks like it’s back, then the maxilla must be in the correct position,” Mew told me.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2020
The serration of the maxilla is less pronounced.
From Descriptions of Three New Birds from the Belgian Congo Bulletin of the AMNH , Vol. XXXIV, Art. XVI, pp. 509-513, Oct. 20th, 1915 by James Chapin
A few inches away sits a skull the size of a watermelon, thick ivory fangs jutting from its bleached maxillae.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Mandibles fused into a piercer; first maxillae developed as piercers; palps of both pairs of maxillae present; hypopharynx wanting.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
III., 1st maxillae, a, base; b, sheath; c, stylet; c′, muscle.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various
Other distinguishing characters are: Zygomatic arches more widely spreading; length of zygomatic processes of maxillae greater; and relatively longer, narrower rostrum.
From The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1 Kansas University Publications. by Stephen D. Durrant
Mandibles present in pupa, vestigial in imago; maxillae suctorial without specialization; first maxillae with lacinia, galea and palp.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
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