dorsal
1of, relating to, or situated at the back, or dorsum.
Anatomy, Zoology. : Compare ventral (def. 2).
situated on or toward the upper side of the body, equivalent to the back, or posterior, in humans.
situated on or toward the posterior plane in humans or toward the upper plane in quadrupeds.
Botany. pertaining to the surface away from the axis, as of a leaf; abaxial.
Phonetics. (of a speech sound) articulated with the dorsum of the tongue.
Phonetics. a dorsal speech sound.
Anatomy. a dorsal structure.
Origin of dorsal
1Other words from dorsal
- dor·sal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby dorsal
Other definitions for dorsal (2 of 2)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dorsal in a sentence
The team assembled “a massive dataset” of femur and dorsal rib bone densities from “an incredible menagerie of extinct and living animals, reaching out to museum curators all around the world,” Ibrahim says.
Spinosaurus’ dense bones fuel debate over whether some dinosaurs could swim | Carolyn Gramling | March 23, 2022 | Science NewsThen they noticed the telltale dorsal fins of killer whales.
Orcas can take down the largest animal on the planet | Anna Gibbs | March 14, 2022 | Science News For StudentsPrevious studies have found that different activities recruit specific bundles of nerve fibers from a part of the spinal cord called the dorsal root.
A Spinal Cord Implant Allowed Paralyzed People to Walk in Just One Day | Shelly Fan | February 15, 2022 | Singularity HubTooth marks crisscrossed its flank, and its dorsal fin was mostly bitten off.
Gory footage confirms orca pods can kill adult blue whales | Anna Gibbs | February 3, 2022 | Science NewsPrevious experiments have suggested that the dorsal pallium of fish may be analogous to the amygdala of mammals, where fear memories are stored.
Fish brains provide insight on how humans store memories | Don Arnold / The Conversation | January 11, 2022 | Popular-Science
The building is festooned with cartoon-like images of fish, including dorsal fins that poke out of the roof.
Become a Fried Seafood Believer at South Beach Market | Jane & Michael Stern | April 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt has silvery blue skin and a red dorsal fin that runs the length of its body.
Fishy Mystery: Are Beached Oarfish Trying to Tell Us Something? | Kevin Bailey | October 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe first and last lines of Lolita make my dorsal hairs quiver, as Nabokov intended.
Relatively misshapen and formless, the dorsal figure is perhaps even more expressive of physical torment.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’ | Thomas de Wesselow | April 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe body shields of the head pass gradually into the dorsal plates.
The tip often forms an abrupt angle with the shaft and there is a keel on the dorsal surface of the tip (see figs. 5, 6).
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks | John A. WhiteMicroscopic examination reveals that there is a faint keel on the dorsal surface of the tip.
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks | John A. WhiteSuch a contrivance would save his feet, check his perspiration, and console his dorsal vertebra.
Our Churches and Chapels | AtticusThis body has deep pits both on the dorsal and ventral sides near the base.
British Dictionary definitions for dorsal
/ (ˈdɔːsəl) /
anatomy zoology relating to the back or spinal part of the body: Compare ventral (def. 1)
botany of, relating to, or situated on the side of an organ that is directed away from the axis
articulated with the back of the tongue, as the (k) sound in English coot
Origin of dorsal
1Derived forms of dorsal
- dorsally, adverb
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
Scientific definitions for dorsal
[ dôr′səl ]
Relating to or on the back or upper surface of an animal.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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