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
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
Unlike the ancient skulls, this postindustrial woman’s maxilla was crinkled and small; the teeth that remained sat crammed together.
From New York Times • Aug. 20, 2020
The medial floor is primarily formed by the maxilla, with a small contribution from the palatine bone.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
The pterygoid has a broad articulation with the maxilla, a tenuous contact with the squamosal, but is not attached to the proötic.
From Systematic Status of a South American Frog, Allophryne ruthveni Gaige by Lynch, John D.
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.
