xiphoid

[zif-oid]

adjective

1. Anatomy, Zoology.,  sword-shaped; ensiform.

noun

1. the xiphisternum.

xiphoid

/ ˈzɪfɔɪd /

adjective

1. biology shaped like a sword

2. of or relating to the xiphisternum

noun

1. Also called: xiphoid process. Another name for xiphisternum

Other Word Forms

• postxiphoid adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of xiphoid¹

1740–50; < New Latin xiphoīdēs < Greek xiphoeidḗs swordlike, equivalent to xíph ( os ) sword + -oeidēs -oid

Word History and Origins

Origin of xiphoid¹

C18: from New Latin, from Greek, from xiphos sword + eidos form

Example Sentences

Now I’ve got him pinned with my knee on his xiphoid, making it hard for him to breathe, much less move.

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“Just to the bottom of the xiphoid process,” Ms. Boyle said.

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Actually, the “lump” is the xiphoid process, the quarter-size cartilaginous end of the bony sternum.

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Two little girls were united from the xiphoid cartilage to the umbilicus.

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The posterior extremity of the sternum, flattened from above downwards, ends in a cartilaginous plate; concave superiorly, and convex inferiorly: this is the abdominal prolongation, or xiphoid appendix.

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