patella
Americannoun
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patellas,
plural
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patellae
plural
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Anatomy. the flat, movable bone at the front of the knee; kneecap.
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Biology. a panlike or cuplike formation.
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Zoology. any limpet of the family Patellidae.
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Archaeology. a small pan or shallow vessel.
noun
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Nontechnical name: kneecap. anatomy a small flat triangular bone in front of and protecting the knee joint
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biology a cuplike structure, such as the spore-producing body of certain ascomycetous fungi
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archaeol a small pan
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of patella
1665–75; < Latin, diminutive of patina, patena pan, literally, something wide open. See paten, -elle
Explanation
The patella is the protective bone at the front of your knee. Next time you bang your leg on the edge of the coffee table, you can say, "Ow, my patella!" The patella is more commonly called a "kneecap." This bone resembles a triangle with rounded corners, perfectly shaped to protect your knee joint from injury. When you were born, your patella was just soft cartilage, but it hardened as you grew. Like humans, many other animals also have patellas, including mice, dogs — and even birds!
Vocabulary lists containing patella
Gross, Anatomy!
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High 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.
See Examples For:
He did not say whether he believed his previous kneecap condition — Ohtani underwent surgery in 2019 to address the bipartite patella in his left knee — was connected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
But they are short of attacking midfielders - Maddison will take a long time to recover from his ACL injury, while Dejan Kulusevski is recovering from a long-term patella issue.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
Scoles, six months removed from two knee surgeries to correct a patella tendon that was peeling off her bone, was forced to withdraw from competition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2024
Carroll said Lucas is suffering from a patella tendon issue.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
It starts: Your decision not to have surgery means that realistically, with patella tendonitis, you may not be able to play again.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
Sesamoid bones, such as the patellae, are small and round, and are located in tendons.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
Although her patellas have hamstring tendons from cadavers, Flanagan has come through the eclipse stronger than she expected.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2021
“His patellas are not really attached to anything,” Gardner says.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 2, 2018
He came out of the dance with both patellas bruised.
From What Will People Say? A novel by Rupert Hughes
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.
