axillary

American  

[ak-suh-ler-ee] / ˈæk səˌlɛr i /

adjective

1. Anatomy, Ornithology. pertaining to the axilla.

2. Botany. pertaining to or growing from the axil.

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noun

axillaries plural

1. Ornithology. axillar.

axillary British  

/ ækˈsɪlərɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or near the armpit

2. botany growing in or related to the axil

   an axillary bud

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noun

1. Also called: axillar.  (usually plural) one of the feathers growing from the axilla of a bird's wing

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interaxillary
  adjective
• superaxillary
  adjective
• postaxillary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• axillaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of axillary

First recorded in 1605–15; axill(a) + -ary

Example Sentences

Mr Flack said that transection of the left axillary artery – the main artery to the arm – was also a contributory cause to her death.

From BBC • Aug. 15, 2024

More than one-third of patients who underwent axillary dissection were found to have additional metastases than the maximum two in the sentinel lymph nodes.

From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2024

The leaves just above the nodes arose from axillary buds.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Even humans are thought to respond to certain pheromones called axillary steroids.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Seed globular, erect, with a hard coat.—Shrubs or small trees, with commonly deciduous leaves, and axillary or leafy-racemed white and showy flowers on drooping peduncles; produced in spring.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa