vestigial
Americanadjective
Usage
What does vestigial mean? Vestigial is used to describe something, especially a part of an organism, that used to have a function but has now shrunk and is mostly not used anymore.Vestigial is an adjective form of the noun vestige, meaning something left over from a previous version.Vestigial is used in science to describe structures like animal organs, tissues, or bones that may have been used by an ancestor but aren’t anymore. For example, snakes have vestigial structures where limbs would have been when they walked on four legs.Even though they serve no function, vestigial structures do not disappear completely because they don’t reduce the likelihood that the animal will reproduce.Even humans have vestigial organs and vestigial structures. The coccyx—that tiny bone at the bottom of your spinal cord—is believed to be a vestigial structure left over from an ancient ancestor that had a prehensile tail.Vestigial can also be applied to the specific parts, as in Whales have vestigial pelvic bones from a time when they walked on land.Example: The human appendix was once thought to be vestigial but scientists think it may still have a function.
Other Word Forms
- vestigially adverb
Etymology
Origin of vestigial
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.
If lawmakers have a vestigial sense of shame, they can apologize to the victims whose information was posted.
Companies have skimped on dividends amid an epic bull run for stock prices, leaving the S&P 500’s yield of just 1.1% looking like finance’s vestigial tailbone—an evolutionary holdover without a clear purpose.
From Barron's
A vestigial instinct made him look around for who was in charge.
Look closely and you’ll see vestigial seeds dotting the surface like radiant drops of citrine, lending the tomato an air of something treasured, preserved.
From Salon
By the time her final husband of convenience realizes his role is vestigial, he can’t muster enough ire to make her flinch.
From Salon
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.
