incus
Americannoun
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Anatomy. the middle one of a chain of three small bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals.
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Also called thunderhead. Also called anvil. Also called anvil cloud. Also called anvil top,. the spreading, anvil-shaped, upper portion of a mature cumulonimbus cloud, smooth or slightly fibrous in appearance.
noun
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The anvil-shaped bone (ossicle) that lies between the malleus and the stapes in the middle ear.
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The elongated, often anvil-shaped upper portion of a fully developed cumulonimbus cloud; a thunderhead.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of incus
1660–70; < New Latin, Latin incūs anvil, equivalent to incūd- (stem of incūdere to hammer, beat upon) + -s nominative singular ending; see incuse
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.
Without the malleus and incus, sound waves would not be collected by the tympanum.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
The auditory ossicles consist of three bones each: the malleus, incus, and stapes.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
If we did not have the malleus and the incus, then the vibrations of the tympanum would never reach the inner ear.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
The incus is the bridge between the malleus and stapes.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
The body of the incus is round and the short process is elongate.
From Speciation and Evolution of the Pygmy Mice, Genus Baiomys by Packard, Robert L.
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.
