jugular
Americanadjective
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Anatomy.
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of or relating to the throat or neck.
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noting or pertaining to any of certain large veins of the neck, especially one external jugular vein collecting blood from the superficial parts of the head or one internal jugular vein collecting blood from within the skull.
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(of a fish) having the pelvic fins at the throat, before the pectoral fins.
noun
idioms
adjective
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of, relating to, or situated near the throat or neck
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of, having, or denoting pelvic fins situated in front of the pectoral fins
a jugular fish
noun
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short for jugular vein
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to make a savage and destructive attack on an enemy's weakest point
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jugular
1590–1600; < Late Latin jugulāris, equivalent to Latin jugul ( um ) throat ( see jugulate) + -āris -ar 1
Explanation
Jugular is short for “jugular vein,” the major vein that brings blood from your head to your heart. You can also call any vulnerable area the jugular. If you hear someone say, “Go for the jugular!” Watch out! A serious attack is coming. When lions attack prey, they chomp down on the jugular to kill the animal fast. If your jugular is cut, you could die very quickly without medical help. You can also call your neck and throat the jugular area. Because this is a vulnerable area, you can use this word for other vulnerable things, like a weak spot on a sports team.
Vocabulary lists containing jugular
Typical American
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Death Comes for the Archbishop
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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.
Normal foreign policy considerations regarding conflict with a country of 90 million people situated astride the world’s oil jugular do not come into play.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
“It’s really going for the jugular, and in a major way,” said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a Washington think tank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
“I personally can’t think of one where it just jumped out and got its teeth around the jugular of the media and stayed there,” he said.
From Slate ● Feb. 9, 2025
She was smart about how she ordered her argument for a smartphone, starting with logic and then going for the emotional jugular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
A pulsing jugular looped lazily down the length of her neck.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
