deltoid
Americannoun
adjective
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Anatomy. pertaining to or involving the deltoid.
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Also in the shape of a Greek capital delta (Δ); triangular.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deltoid
1675–85; < Greek deltoeidḗs delta-shaped, equivalent to délt ( a ) delta + -oeidēs -oid
Explanation
Your deltoid is your shoulder muscle — it makes up the rounded part of your shoulder and allows you to twist, raise, and extend your arms. When deltoid is used as an adjective, it means "triangular," so you could describe your A-frame house or pup tent as deltoid. The deltoid muscle got its name because of its triangular shape and its three distinct sections of muscle fibers. Weight lifters and body builders sometimes call these muscles "delts" for short. Deltoid comes from the Greek deltoeides, "triangular," or "shaped like the Greek letter delta."
Vocabulary lists containing deltoid
Seedfolks
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Physical Education - Middle School and High School
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High 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.
See Examples For:
All of the X-Men were strong, their muscles etched from deltoid to abdomen to quadriceps.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2023
He dislocated an ankle, broke his fibula and tore the deltoid ligament in his right leg last year in a 27-7 victory over Iowa, knocking him out for the rest of the season.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2022
Mariners: LF Sam Haggerty received an MRI, revealing an isolated deltoid strain.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
In this injury, the very strong deltoid ligament does not tear, but instead shears off the medial malleolus of the tibia.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
They would aim for the muscle that Tariq, in a professorial voice, called the deltoid.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
He’s fixated on a competition judge who, back in 2016, called his deltoids small.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
But some nights, he lets the wolf inside take over, his deltoids undulating as he prowls on all fours.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2021
Last summer, when photos from the set of Terminator: Dark Fate showed Mackenzie Davis sporting a fashion bowl cut, grimy tank top, and massive deltoids, lesbian Twitter lost its mind.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2019
But the longer I was there, the more I seemed to thrive under the limitations, enjoying the pull in my deltoids as I beat things by hand.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 18, 2018
The jacket was the green of far forests, and needed cuffs to catch the sleeves between biceps and deltoids.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
