opposable

[ uh-poh-zuh-buhl ]

adjective
  1. capable of being placed opposite to something else: the opposable thumb of primates.

  2. capable of being resisted, fought, or opposed.

Origin of opposable

1
First recorded in 1660–70; oppose + -able

Other words from opposable

  • op·pos·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • non·op·pos·a·ble, adjective
  • un·op·pos·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby opposable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use opposable in a sentence

  • In the Didelphyidae the foot is broad, all five digits are well developed, and the hallux is opposable to the others.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • In the Phalangers and Koalas though the second and third toes are very slender, the hallux is well developed and opposable.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • It had the same place in crustacean development that the opposable thumb is believed to have had in that of man.

  • What a comedy that man should work so hard to prove that his chief glory is his opposable thumb, or a few ounces of brain matter!

  • Both thumb and great toe are opposable; but the foot is a true foot, and the hand a true hand, in anatomical structure.

British Dictionary definitions for opposable

opposable

/ (əˈpəʊzəbəl) /


adjective
  1. capable of being opposed

  2. Also: apposable (of the thumb of primates, esp man) capable of being moved into a position facing the other digits so as to be able to touch the ends of each

  1. capable of being placed opposite something else

Derived forms of opposable

  • opposably, adverb
  • opposability, noun

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