mastoid

[mas-toid]

adjective Anatomy.

of or relating to the mastoid process.

resembling a breast or nipple.

noun

the mastoid process.

Origin of mastoid

1725–35; < New Latin mastoīdēs < Greek mastoeidḗs. See masto-, -oid

Related formsin·ter·mas·toid, adjectivepost·mas·toid, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for mastoids

Historical Examples of mastoids

The skull of the female oregonensis is more heavily ridged and is relatively broader across the mastoids than that of effera.
American Weasels
E. Raymond Hall
The slenderness is especially noticeable in the breadth across the zygomata, mastoids, and rostrum.
A New Pocket Gopher (Genus Thomomys) From Wyoming and Colorado
E. Raymond Hall

British Dictionary definitions for mastoids

mastoid

adjective

shaped like a nipple or breast

designating or relating to a nipple-like process of the temporal bone behind the ear

noun

the mastoid process

informal mastoiditis

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

Word Origin and History for mastoids

mastoid

adj.

"breast-shaped, resembling a breast or nipple," 1732, from Greek mastoeides "resembling a breast," from mastos "(woman's) breast" (see masto-) + -oeides "like," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid). As a noun, 1800, from the adjective.

mastoids in Medicine

mastoid

[măs′toid′]

n.

The mastoid process.

adj.

Of or relating to the mastoid process, antrum, or sinuses.

Shaped like a breast or nipple.