ankle
Americannoun
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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
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.
Annie can’t travel outside Louisiana and has to wear an ankle monitor—for how long isn’t clear.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Researchers compared it to taking painkillers while continuing to run on an injured ankle.
From Science Daily • May 13, 2026
Had it been any higher, for instance on the ankle, then a VAR intervention should have been expected.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Fulleffort was scratched Thursday because of a chipped bone in his left hind ankle.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
She sprained her ankle but not very bad.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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.
