lantern jaw
Americannoun
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a distinctly protruding, often wide lower jaw.
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a long, thin jaw.
noun
Etymology
Origin of lantern jaw
First recorded in 1690–1700; so called from the fancied resemblance of the face to the shape of a lantern
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.
Worse, Acme is represented by John Cena’s ferocious defense attorney Buddy Crane, the former wrestler making full use of his cartoonish features: lantern jaw, perma-frown, and a bull neck thick enough for boulder-sized bolo ties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Then one day she saw an image of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, with his lantern jaw and no-nonsense gray hair.
From Washington Post ● May 10, 2019
Earlier that year, it called Secretary of State John Kerry a wolf with a "hideous lantern jaw" after U.S. and South Korean troops launched summertime drills.
From US News ● Apr. 12, 2016
Fred Hutchinson was once described by The New York Times as having a “long, somber countenance, lantern jaw and tight-lipped mouth that habitually drooped at the corners.”
From Washington Times ● Apr. 26, 2015
Sometimes the man with the silver hair and broad shoulders and lantern jaw is a lightweight.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
