tibia
Americannoun
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tibiae,
plural
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tibias
plural
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Anatomy. the inner of the two bones of the leg, that extend from the knee to the ankle and articulate with the femur and the talus; shinbone.
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Zoology.
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a corresponding bone in a horse or other hoofed quadruped, extending from the stifle to the hock.
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(in insects) the fourth segment of the leg, between the femur and tarsus.
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noun
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Also called: shinbone. the inner and thicker of the two bones of the human leg between the knee and ankle Compare fibula
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the corresponding bone in other vertebrates
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the fourth segment of an insect's leg, lying between the femur and the tarsus
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tibia
First recorded in 1685–95, tibia is from the Latin word tībia literally, reed pipe
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Vocabulary lists containing tibia
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.
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They include a few isolated sauropod teeth, scattered bones likely from a sauropod, and two finds near Knysna: the theropod tooth discovered earlier and part of a tibia.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
In addition to the previously reported complex tibia fracture, Vonn said Monday that she also fractured her fibular head and tibia plateau on her left leg during the crash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
“Basically, I had a complex tibia fracture. I also fractured my fibular head, my tibial plateau — just kind of everything was in pieces,” she said.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
Brignone's participation in the Olympics was in doubt as recently as three weeks ago due to the double fracture of the tibia in her left leg from a crash in a race in April 2025.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
An infection spiked up and he was rushed to the emergency room downtown where a two-inch section of his tibia and fibula was removed.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
His meticulously assembled forest of skulls, femurs, tibiae, and fibulae isn’t sacrilege; it’s a memorial.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2026
At any rate, the tibiae described as equestres must be equestrian, not equine, shins or shanks—those of a horseman, not of a horse.
From Cabinet Portrait Gallery of British Worthies Volume I by Anonymous
V. vulgaris often has black spots on the tibiae, which are wanting in germanica.
From Hormones and Heredity by J. T. Cunningham
Foramina: small openings in the body wall: in Orthoptera,; the auditory organs on the anterior tibiae.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith
The genus, or rather family, of Epeira, is here characterized by many singular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae.
From The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
She said that, because of the rampant theft of some of the femurs, tibias and skulls in the past, the bones were now cemented together.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
She heightens the sense of otherworldliness by employing unusual materials, including horse tibias and cigarette butts.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
Some think it has to do with skeletal structure: female tibias tend to slope backward more at rest, leaving more room to accelerate as they land from a jump.
From Slate ● May 4, 2012
And Lee carefully packed the bones, femurs, and tibias really straight, skull in the middle, with pelvis and clavicle surrounding it and ribs curving on either side.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
I learned that insects are arthropods and that they have tibias too!
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
