clavicle
Americannoun
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a bone of the pectoral arch.
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(in humans) either of two slender bones, each articulating with the sternum and a scapula and forming the anterior part of a shoulder; collarbone.
noun
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Nontechnical name: collarbone. either of the two bones connecting the shoulder blades with the upper part of the breastbone
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the corresponding structure in other vertebrates
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Either of two slender bones that extend from the upper part of the sternum (breastbone) to the shoulder.
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Also called collarbone
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of clavicle
1605–15; < Medieval Latin clāvicula collarbone, Latin: tendril, door-bolt, little key, equivalent to clāvi ( s ) key + -cula -cule 1
Explanation
The clavicle, more commonly known as the collarbone, connects your shoulder blade to you sternum. The clavicle is the only long horizontal bone in the body (all the other long bones are vertical, such as those in the arms and legs). It evolved to provide a structural support for the arms, and also to serve as protection around blood vessels and nerves in that part of the body. The clavicles of birds are Y-shaped and, on a holiday turkey, are also called the "wishbone."
Vocabulary lists containing clavicle
Gross, Anatomy!
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High 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.
It’s multicolored and features an eye motif and beaded tassels hanging down toward the clavicle.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Notice the robust volume as the stock attempts to form the right clavicle of a bullish inverse head-and-shoulders pattern.
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
Mr Warburton sustained a dislocated right hip and a displaced clavicle.
From BBC • Jul. 11, 2025
A fractured right clavicle ended his sophomore season, before he separated his right AC joint as a junior in 2021.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2024
In May, a Honduran had a fractured right clavicle.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
