tenaculum
Americannoun
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Surgery. a small sharp-pointed hook set in a handle, used for seizing and picking up parts in operations and dissections.
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Entomology. a clasplike appendage on the abdomen of a springtail, which holds the springing device in place.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tenaculum
1685–95; < Latin tenāculum instrument for gripping, equivalent to ten ( ēre ) to hold + -ā- (from v. stems ending in -ā-; see gubernaculum) + -culum -cule 2
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:
In the fossil record, they also observed evidence of teeth on the tenaculum of related species.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
"The tenaculum is a developmental relic, not a bizarre one-off, and the first clear example of a toothed structure outside the jaw."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
“The parts that hurt for some patients — just placing the speculum is uncomfortable — placing the tenaculum is the first part that's not just pressure that can sometimes feel sharp,” Espey told Salon.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
Using a tenaculum, a scissor-like surgical tool, the physician steadies the cervix.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
Soft polyps should be drawn out with a toothed tenaculum as far as can be without risk of breaking them off.
From Old-Time Makers of Medicine The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages by Walsh, James Joseph
On the farther side, in front of the window, there was a board which was strewed with glittering instruments, forceps, tenacula, saws, canulas, and trocars.
From The Man from Archangel and Other Tales of Adventure by Doyle, A. Conan
On the further side, in front of the window, there was a board which was strewed with glittering instruments—forceps, tenacula, saws, canulas, and trocars.
From Round the Red Lamp by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir
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.
