hyoid

American  

[hahy-oid] / ˈhaɪ ɔɪd /

adjective

1. Also hyoidal hyoidean 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.

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noun

1. the hyoid bone.

hyoid British  

/ ˈhaɪɔɪd /

adjective

1. of or relating to the hyoid bone

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noun

1. the horseshoe-shaped bone that lies at the base of the tongue and above the thyroid cartilage

2. a corresponding bone or group of bones in other vertebrates

Other Word Forms

• posthyoid
  adjective
• subhyoid
  adjective
• subhyoidean
  adjective

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Etymology

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hyoid

"This small-bodied -- in relation to the T. rex -- meat-eater's hyoid bone showed growth patterns that suggest maturity or approaching maturity," said Poust, Voorhies Endowed Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026

To do so, Dr. Griffin assembled a team to create a broad comparative dataset of hyoid samples from living lizards, crocodiles, birds, and extinct dinosaurs.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 9, 2025

Known placoderms have at most five gill arches, others having evolved into jaws and the hyoid, so the pectoral girdle derives from what was once the sixth gill arch, Brazeau’s team concludes.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 1, 2023

When fish feed, muscles supporting these structures generate suction by depressing and retracting the hyoid and expanding the gill slits to draw water in.

From Science Magazine ● May 24, 2023

As a rule the external opening of the fistula is above the hyoid bone, only the upper part of the duct having remained pervious.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

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