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thighbone

American  
[thahy-bohn] / ˈθaɪˌboʊn /

noun

thighbones plural
  1. femur.


thighbone British  
/ ˈθaɪˌbəʊn /

noun

  1. a nontechnical name for the femur

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of thighbone

First recorded in 1400–50, thighbone is from late Middle English the bane. See thigh, bone

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:

The procedure involved placing new implants at the end of the thighbone and top of the shinbone with the computer's aid to ensure the knee was stable and balanced throughout the range of motion.

From Science Daily Jan. 17, 2024

But, “It’s not a slam dunk,” Lieberman says, because the partial fossil thighbone lacks both ends.

From Science Magazine Aug. 24, 2022

Compared to bones from other species, the thighbone matched up better with upright-walking humans than knuckle-walking apes, according to the study.

From Seattle Times Aug. 24, 2022

The femur, or thighbone, is the longest, heaviest, and strongest bone in the body.

From Textbooks Jun. 9, 2022

We thanked Poseidon with many a charred thighbone for that crossing.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Then they butchered it, swaddled the great thighbones in fat and burned them, so the gods could feast on the smoke, the immaterial and thus everlasting part of the animal.

From New York Times May 11, 2022

From the width of the thighbones of the two more extensive skeletons in the block, the researchers estimate that each weighed roughly 45 kilograms, a little more than a German shepherd dog.

From Nature Aug. 24, 2017

Studying his old Chinese thighbones, Dr. Weidenreich decided that they belonged to a female who walked completely upright and was about 5 ft. tall.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Science last week Dr. Weidenreich described in detail the first thighbones of Sinanthropus, discovered by Dr. Pei among last season's material collected from the Choukoutien caves.

From Time Magazine Archive

They burnt the great thighbones and feasted at their ease on fresh roast meat, as in their midst the godlike harper sang— Demodokos, honored by all that realm.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

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