mandible

[ man-duh-buhl ]

noun

1. the bone of the lower jaw.
2. (in birds)
   1. the lower part of the bill.
   2. mandibles, the upper and lower parts of the bill.
3. (in arthropods) one of the first pair of mouthpart appendages, typically a jawlike biting organ, but styliform or setiform in piercing and sucking species.

mandible

/ ˈmændɪbəl; -ˌleɪt; mænˈdɪbjʊlɪt; mænˈdɪbjʊlə /

noun

1. See jaw
   the lower jawbone in vertebrates See jaw
2. either of a pair of mouthparts in insects and other arthropods that are usually used for biting and crushing food
3. ornithol either the upper or the lower part of the bill, esp the lower part

mandible

/ măn′də-bəl /

1. The lower part of the jaw in vertebrate animals.
2. See more at skeleton
3. One of the pincerlike mouthparts of insects and other arthropods.

Derived Forms

• mandibulate, nounadjective
• mandibular, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandible¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Late Latin mandibula jaw, equivalent to mandi- (combining form of Latin mandere to chew) + -bula noun suffix of means

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandible¹

C16: via Old French from Late Latin mandibula jaw, from mandere to chew

Example Sentences

The ant’s mandibles gaped open and prepared to seize the beetle.

From Quanta Magazine

From this, they used a computer model to simulation the mandible and how it would move.

From Science News For Students

Here, Fortner says, the mandible was too flexible to generate big bite forces.

From Science News For Students

In that scenario, the mandible became too flexible to generate large bite forces.

From Science News

That flexibility helps the animals maintain a better grip on struggling prey and also allows the mandible to flex wider to accommodate larger morsels, he notes.

From Science News

The peculiarity of their beak consists in the lower mandible being considerably longer than the other into which it shuts.

From Project Gutenberg

The insertion is tendinous on the dorsal surface of the lower mandible in common with the dorsal aponeurosis of pars profundus.

From Project Gutenberg

The most dorsal aponeurosis inserts on a tubercle at the posterior tip of the dorsal edge of the mandible.

From Project Gutenberg

The stripe p. 160corresponding to the deep yellow stripe on the upper mandible is sky blue.

From Project Gutenberg

In Lethrus F. in the female, but not the male, the mandible is armed below with a long incurved horn.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bone
• mouth