costal
Americanadjective
-
Anatomy. pertaining to the ribs or the upper sides of the body.
costal nerves.
-
Botany, Zoology. pertaining to, involving, or situated near a costa.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of costal
1625–35; < Medieval Latin costālis of the ribs, equivalent to Latin cost ( a ) rib, side + -ālis -al 1
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.
This provided direct evidence of costal aspiration breathing, where muscles between the ribs expand and compress the chest cavity to pull air into the lungs.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
Tests later revealed he broke the costal cartilage of his sixth rib.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of people were facing power outages on Tuesday that could take days to restore after a sweeping costal storm battered the Northeast with whipping winds and soaking downpours.
From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2023
Based on projections, the elderly boom will be in rural, largely costal, areas and these places are often poor cousins when it comes to provision.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2023
The flanks were bluish gray with black in the costal grooves and creamy tan flecks along the ventral edge of the flank.
From Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala by Duellman, William E.
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.
