hyoid

[ hahy-oid ]

adjective

Also hy·oi·dal, hy·oi·de·an. noting or pertaining to a U-shaped bone at the root of the tongue in humans, or a corresponding bone or collection of bones in animals.

noun

the hyoid bone.

Origin of hyoid

1700–10; <New Latin hȳoïdes<Greek hȳoeidḗs, shaped like the letter hypsilon (i.e. upsilon), equivalent to hȳ- (derivative of letter name hŷ, variant of ŷ;see upsilon) + -oeidēs-oid

Other words from hyoid

post·hy·oid, adjective
sub·hy·oid, adjective
sub·hy·oid·e·an, adjective

Words Nearby hyoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hyoid in a sentence

This is because both actions depend on moving the U-shaped hyoid bone, but in opposite directions.
Baleen whales have an ‘oral plug’ to help them guzzle down food without choking | Kate Baggaley | January 24, 2022 | Popular-Science
The fossil’s extremely elongated tongue attachment bones, or hyoid apparatus, suggests that the bird could protrude its tongue from its mouth, much as some present-day birds do to grab hard-to-reach morsels.
This 120-million-year-old bird could stick out its tongue | Kate Baggaley | December 16, 2021 | Popular-Science
In today’s birds, the hyoid apparatus consists of cartilage and several bones, including the rod-shaped ceratobranchials and epibranchials.
This 120-million-year-old bird could stick out its tongue | Kate Baggaley | December 16, 2021 | Popular-Science
Mallei and hyoid bones of the genera and subgenera of the chipmunks were mostly studied in the dry state.
Genera and Subgenera of Chipmunks | John A. White
The hyoid bone, serving as a medium of attachment for the tongue, may also be considered a portion of the larynx.
The Psychology of Singing | David C. Taylor

In the posterior halves two similar rods are formed which develop into the hyoid.
Form and Function | E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
Of arch II., the lower part became the horn of the hyoid, the upper part had a varying fate.
Form and Function | E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
The hyoid is at first connected with the skull, 140but afterwards frees itself and becomes slung to the "quadrate."
Form and Function | E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

British Dictionary definitions for hyoid

hyoid

/ (ˈhaɪɔɪd) /

adjectiveAlso: hyoidal, hyoidean

of or relating to the hyoid bone

nounAlso: hyoid bone

the horseshoe-shaped bone that lies at the base of the tongue and above the thyroid cartilage
a corresponding bone or group of bones in other vertebrates

Origin of hyoid

C19: from New Latin hӯoïdes, from Greek huoeidēs having the shape of the letter upsilon, from hu upsilon + -oid

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

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