ankle
Americannoun
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ankles
plural
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(in humans) the joint between the foot and the leg, in which movement occurs in two planes.
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the corresponding joint in a quadruped or bird; hock.
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the slender part of the leg above the foot.
noun
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the joint connecting the leg and the foot See talus 1
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the part of the leg just above the foot
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ankle
First recorded before 1000; partly from Middle English ankel, enkel, ankyl, cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch enkel, Old Frisian ankel, Old High German anchal, enchil, Old Norse ǫkkul (from unrecorded ankula); partly from Middle English anclowe, oncleou, Old English anclēow, onclēow, cognate with Middle Low German anclef, Dutch anklāw, Old High German anchlāo; akin to Latin angulus “corner, angle,” Greek ankúlos “bent, crooked,” and ankṓn “bend of the arm, elbow”
Explanation
Your ankle connects your lower leg to your foot. The ankle is a joint that bends and swivels. The ankle is actually a fairly complicated part of your body, officially including three separate joints that make it possible to bend your legs, jump, run, and walk. The major bone in your ankle is called a talus, and it's the one at the very top of your foot. In Old English, it was ancleow, from a root word meaning "to bend," a root it shares with the word angle.
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:
Reaves, who tweaked his ankle in practice, still went through his pregame warmup routine Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Star half-back Nathan Cleary is out of the tournament with a broken and dislocated ankle.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Top pass rusher Brian Burns sprained his left ankle and left tackle Andrew Thomas sustained an apparent lower-body injury, with neither player returning to the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
However, he has suffered a string of ankle, knee and elbow injuries during his career.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The ablutionist’s ankle had caught on Rostam’s harness, and so he dragged the dead man behind us.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
As well as broken or uneven steps, weak ankles or knees and inappropriate footwear, a variety of other factors can lead to falls, the CDC says.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
In surveillance video, the men are seen slicing the depiction of Jesus at the ankles and carting it away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Chimpanzees are highly capable tree trunk climbers, aided by ankles that can flex much farther than human ankles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
Divers tied stone weights around their ankles and held their breath as they sank to the bottom of the shallows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Captain Smith is still in chains, though they have freed his wrists and only his ankles remain shackled.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
