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dermis

1 American  
[dur-mis] / ˈdɜr mɪs /

noun

  1. Anatomy, Zoology. the dense inner layer of skin beneath the epidermis, composed of connective tissue, blood and lymph vessels, sweat glands, hair follicles, and an elaborate sensory nerve network.

-dermis 2 American  

  1. a combining form meaning “skin,” “layer of tissue,” used in the formation of compound words.

    exodermis; gastrodermis.
dermis British  
/ ˈdɜːmɪs /

noun

  1. another name for corium

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
dermis Scientific  
/ dûr′mĭs /

  1. The innermost layer of the skin in vertebrate animals. The dermis lies under the epidermis and contains nerve endings and blood and lymph vessels. In mammals, the dermis also contains hair follicles and sweat glands.

Usage

What does -dermis mean? The combining form -dermis is used like a suffix meaning "skin" or "layer of tissue." It is used in a number of scientific terms, especially in botany and zoology.This form is directly based on epidermis, the thin outer layer of the skin, from the Greek epidermís, “surface skin” (more on this word in the next section below).The word dermis was extracted from epidermis and refers to the dense inner layer of skin. All of these words ultimately come from the Greek dérma, meaning “skin.”The Greek dérma also helps form the word taxidermy. Discover more about its roots in our entry for the word.Closely related to -dermis are the combining forms -derm, -derma, -dermatous, dermat-, dermato-, derm-, and dermo-. Learn their specific applications in our Words That Use articles for these forms.

Other Word Forms

  • dermic adjective

Etymology

Origin of dermis1

1820–30; < New Latin; abstracted from epidermis

Origin of -dermis2

On the model of epidermis; dermis

Compare meaning

How does dermis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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.

"The collagen will just sit on the outer layer of your skin, it won't reach the dermis - which is the middle layer."

From BBC • Sep. 27, 2025

In argyria, silver ions circulate through the bloodstream and become embedded in the dermis, a layer beneath the surface where the body cannot easily clear them.

From Salon • Jan. 20, 2025

They are thought to provide clinical improvement by adding volume to the skin, but researchers have found that cross-linked hyaluronic acid also stimulates production of new type I collagen in the dermis.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2024

Multi-layered full thickness skin was created which contained all three layers present in normal human tissue: epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis.

From Science Daily • Oct. 4, 2023

Surely it could not feel like other flesh; it was made of something finer and rarer than cells and blood, dermis and epidermis.

From Girl Alone by Austin, Anne

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.