masseter
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of masseter
1660–70; < New Latin < Greek massētḗr, variant of masētḗr chewer, masseter, equivalent to masē-, variant stem of masâsthai to chew + -tēr agentive suffix
Vocabulary lists containing masseter
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.
He did neck exercises and chewed extra-firm gum that he’d seen looksmaxxers claim would help build the jawline’s masseter muscles.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
About 40 units are needed for the masseter muscles to help soothe teeth clenching.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
There was also evidence of an evolutionary connection between the extramandibular fat and the masseter muscle, which in humans connects the lower jawbone to the cheekbones and is a key muscle involved in chewing.
From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024
The rise of processed foods — beginning with the invention of canning in the early 1800s — softened diets to the point that the masseter muscles barely had to do any work when chewing.
From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2020
It is sometimes bilateral, the bone giving way at the canine fossa on one side and just in front of the masseter on the other; or both fractures may be at the canine fossæ.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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.
