knucklebone

[nuhk-uh l-bohn]

noun

(in humans) any of the bones forming a knuckle of a finger.

(in quadrupeds) a bone homologous with a wrist, ankle, or finger bone of humans, or its knobbed end.

Origin of knucklebone

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at knuckle, bone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for knucklebones

Historical Examples of knucklebones

No kneeling figures, no Nellie Underwood, no Cyril, no knucklebones.
An Australian Lassie
Lilian Turner
The draught-men employed were knucklebones of sheep, some blackened.
Pabo, The Priest
Sabine Baring-Gould
Turning to his men, with his hand he brushed the knucklebones off the board.
Pabo, The Priest
Sabine Baring-Gould
They all seemed very merry over a game, much like "knucklebones," which they were playing with shells.
A Modern Buccaneer
Rolf Boldrewood
We talk of dignity and propriety, and we are like so many children playing with knucklebones in a giant's scullery.
The Return
Walter de la Mare

British Dictionary definitions for knucklebones

knucklebones

noun

(functioning as singular) a less common name for jacks

knucklebone

noun

any bone forming part of a knuckle or knuckle joint

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

knucklebones in Medicine

knucklebone

[nŭk′əl-bōn′]

n.

A knobbed bone, as of a knuckle or joint.