turbinate
Americanadjective
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Also turbinated. having the shape of an inverted cone; scroll-like; whorled; spiraled.
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Anatomy. of or relating to certain scroll-like, spongy bones of the nasal passages in humans and other vertebrates.
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inversely conical.
noun
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a turbinate shell.
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Also called nasal concha. Anatomy. a turbinate bone.
adjective
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anatomy of or relating to any of the thin scroll-shaped bones situated on the walls of the nasal passages
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shaped like a spiral or scroll
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(esp of the shells of certain molluscs) shaped like an inverted cone
noun
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Also called: nasal concha. a turbinate bone
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a turbinate shell
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of turbinate
1655–65; < Latin turbinātus shaped like a top, equivalent to turbin- (stem of turbō a top; see turbine) + -ātus -ate 1
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.
Researchers also identified signs of a structure known as a respiratory turbinate inside the nose of Triceratops.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2026
Sporangium obovoid to pyriform or turbinate, rarely clavate, stipitate; the wall thin, smooth and shining, colored as the spores and capillitium.
From The Myxomycetes of the Miami Valley, Ohio by Morgan, A. P. (Andrew Price)
The Snail and all the molluscs with turbinate shells increase the diameter of their corkscrew staircase by degrees, so that the last whorl is always an exact measure of their actual condition.
From The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander
In Var. hirtum the plant is turbinate, subsessile, and hairy, with slender, spinous warts.
From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Taylor, Thomas
Bulb depressed or turbinate, marginate, stem fleshy, fibrous; veil inferior, springing from margin of bulb; pileus equally fleshy; gills subsinuate.
From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George
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.
