maxilla
Americannoun
plural
maxillae-
a jaw or jawbone, especially the upper.
-
one of the paired appendages immediately behind the mandibles of arthropods.
noun
-
the upper jawbone in vertebrates See jaw
-
any member of one or two pairs of mouthparts in insects and other arthropods used as accessory jaws
plural
maxillaeOther Word Forms
- maxillar adjective
Etymology
Origin of maxilla
1670–80; < New Latin, special use of Latin maxilla lower jaw, diminutive of māla (< *maxlā ) upper jaw, cheekbone
Vocabulary lists containing maxilla
Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Middle School
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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.
The Maori and Moriori skeletal remains, including skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were largely collected by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek from 1877 to 1889.
From Reuters • Oct. 2, 2022
The skeletal remains, which include skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were handed over in an official ceremony in Vienna on Tuesday, where there was a panel and presentation.
From Reuters • Sep. 29, 2022
He came to believe that nearly all malocclusions, even the most severe overbites, were an illusion — the main deficiency lay not in the mandible, as the orthodontists attested, but in the maxilla.
From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2020
The two main parts of a tooth are the crown, which is the portion projecting above the gum line, and the root, which is embedded within the maxilla and mandible.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
When there is a difference between these diameters the line formed by the teeth must either fall outside or within the arch of the maxilla and irregularities of arrangements result.
From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Talbot, Eugene S.
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.
