femur

American  

[fee-mer] / ˈfi mər /

noun

plural

femurs, femora

1. Anatomy. a bone in the human leg extending from the pelvis to the knee, that is the longest, largest, and strongest in the body; thighbone.

2. Zoology. a corresponding bone of the leg or hind limb of an animal.

3. Entomology. the third segment of the leg of an insect (counting from the base), situated between the trochanter and the tibia.

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femur British  

/ ˈfiːmə /

noun

1. Nontechnical name: thighbone.  the longest thickest bone of the human skeleton, articulating with the pelvis above and the knee below

2. the corresponding bone in other vertebrates

3. the segment of an insect's leg nearest to the body

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femur Scientific  

/ fē′mər /

1. The long bone of the thigh or of the upper portion of the hind leg.

2. See more at skeleton

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Etymology

Origin of femur

1555–65; < Latin: thigh

Example Sentences

Long bones such as ribs or femora are typically used, but they are not always preserved.

From Science Daily

A few days later, doctors performed surgery to replace her knee and repair her femur.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mason, now 18, was taken to hospital with a suspected broken femur, and his friend's mum suffered a broken ankle.

From BBC

She said that, because of the rampant theft of some of the femurs, tibias and skulls in the past, the bones were now cemented together.

From Barron's

You can see that he’s a tad lopsided on the left side, presumably because Victor couldn’t find matching femurs.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• groin