turbinate

[ tur-buh-nit, -neyt ]

/ ˈtɜr bə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

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adjective

Also tur·bi·nat·ed. having the shape of an inverted cone; scroll-like; whorled; spiraled.

Anatomy. of or relating to certain scroll-like, spongy bones of the nasal passages in humans and other vertebrates.

inversely conical.

noun

a turbinate shell.

Also called nasal concha. Anatomy. a turbinate bone.

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Origin of turbinate

1655–65; <Latin turbinātus shaped like a top, equivalent to turbin- (stem of turbō a top; see turbine) + -ātus-ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM turbinate

tur·bi·na·tion, nounnon·tur·bi·nate, adjectivenon·tur·bi·nat·ed, adjective

Words nearby turbinate

turbidimetry, turbidite, turbidity, turbidity current, turbinal, turbinate, turbinate bone, turbine, turbine blade, turbinectomy, turbine ventilator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use turbinate in a sentence

Achenes short, turbinate to linear; pappus simple, of numerous unequal bristles.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Turbinate or top-shaped, and pyriform or pear-shaped, are especially applicable to pears, and seldom to apples.
American Pomology|J. A. Warder
Spikelets are 2- to 3-flowered, distichously racemed, narrowly turbinate, villous.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
Your tone passages may be partly closed by enlarged tonsils, adenoids, or enlarged turbinate bones of the nose.
The Art of Public Speaking|Dale Carnagey (AKA Dale Carnegie) and J. Berg Esenwein

Fruit, a little turbinate, or top-shaped, somewhat resembling a quince.
British Pomology|Robert Hogg

British Dictionary definitions for turbinate

turbinate

turbinal (ˈtɜːbɪnəl)

/ (ˈtɜːbɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt) /

adjective Also: turbinated

anatomy of or relating to any of the thin scroll-shaped bones situated on the walls of the nasal passages

shaped like a spiral or scroll

(esp of the shells of certain molluscs) shaped like an inverted cone

noun

Also called: nasal concha a turbinate bone

a turbinate shell

Derived forms of turbinate

turbination, noun

Word Origin for turbinate

C17: from Latin turbō spinning top

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

Medical definitions for turbinate

turbinate

[ tûr′bə-nĭt, -nāt′ ]

adj.

Shaped like a top.

Of or relating to a turbinate bone.