Dictionary.com

umbo

[ uhm-boh ]
/ ˈʌm boʊ /

noun, plural um·bo·nes [uhm-boh-neez], /ʌmˈboʊ niz/, um·bos.

a boss on a shield, as one at the center of a circular shield.
any similar boss or protuberance.
Zoology. the beak of a bivalve shell; the protuberance of each valve above the hinge.
Anatomy. the depressed area on the outer surface of the tympanic membrane.
a blunt or rounded protuberance arising from a surface, as on a pine cone scale.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of umbo

1715–25; <Latin umbō boss (of a shield), knob, projecting part; akin to umbilīcus (see umbilicus)

Words nearby umbo

umbilication, umbilicus, umbiliform, umble pie, umbles, umbo, umbonal, umbonate, umbra, umbrage, umbrageous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for umbo

British Dictionary definitions for umbo

umbo
/ (ˈʌmbəʊ) /

noun plural umbones (ʌmˈbəʊniːz) or umbos

a small hump projecting from the centre of the cap in certain mushrooms
a hooked prominence occurring at the apex of each half of the shell of a bivalve mollusc
anatomy the slightly convex area at the centre of the outer surface of the eardrum, where the malleus is attached on the internal surface
a large projecting central boss on a shield, esp on a Saxon shield

Derived forms of umbo

umbonate (ˈʌmbənɪt, -ˌneɪt), umbonal (ˈʌmbənəl) or umbonic (ʌmˈbɒnɪk), adjective

Word Origin for umbo

C18: from Latin: boss of a shield, projecting piece
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 umbo

umbo
[ ŭm′bō ]

n. pl. um•bos

A small anatomical projection on a surface, such as that on the inner surface of the tympanic membrane at the end of the manubrium of the malleus, corresponding to the most depressed point of the membrane.

Other words from umbo

um′bo•nal (ŭm′bə-nəl, ŭm-bō′nəl) null adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.