maxillary

American  

[mak-suh-ler-ee, mak-sil-uh-ree] / ˈmæk səˌlɛr i, mækˈsɪl ə ri /

adjective

1. of or relating to a jaw, jawbone, or maxilla.

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noun

• maxillaries
  plural

1. a maxilla or maxillary bone.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intermaxillary
  adjective
• postmaxillary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• maxillaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of maxillary

First recorded in 1620–30; maxill(a) + -ary

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maxillary maxillaries

Compared with related beetles, members of this genus have exceptionally long and slender mandibles, antennae, and maxillary palps.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

The irritating insects have organs called maxillary palps that allow them to detect carbon dioxide from their prey.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2022

For this reason, it’s the maxillary sinuses that most often clog, and where most sinus infections first take hold.

From New York Times ● May 3, 2022

These are paired and located within the right and left maxillary bones, where they occupy the area just below the orbits.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

The occipital region of the head seems to be artificially flattened, the forehead well-formed, the chin and lower maxillary bones are broad.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume III (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Karl Ritter von Scherzer

The maxillaries are connected with the distal anterior corner of the quadrate by the thin, splint-like jugal and quadratojugal.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

The partes facialae of the maxillaries are moderately developed in all species, except taurinus, in which the pars fascialis tends to articulate with the lateral margin of the nasal in well-ossified individuals.

From A Synopsis of Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Osteocephalus by William E. Duellman

In front of the anterior margin of the orbit, bone is proliferated dorsal to the main axes of the maxillaries and forms moderate dorsal maxillary flanges.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by William E. Duellman

The long axes of the nasals are not parallel to the maxillaries.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by William E. Duellman

The nasals bear long, delicate maxillary processes extending nearly to the maxillaries.

From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by William E. Duellman

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