xiphoid
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
biology shaped like a sword
-
of or relating to the xiphisternum
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of xiphoid
1740–50; < New Latin xiphoīdēs < Greek xiphoeidḗs swordlike, equivalent to xíph ( os ) sword + -oeidēs -oid
Explanation
The adjective xiphoid describes any part of the body that's shaped like a sword. It's mostly used for the xiphoid process, a small, triangular part of the human breastbone. Your xiphoid process is located in the middle of your chest, where your sternum and lower ribs meet. This anatomical feature got its name from the swordlike shape of its lower edge; the Greek root, xiphos, means "sword." You could also use xiphoid as a fancy way to describe anything in the curved shape of a sword, like the xiphoid leaves of your favorite houseplant, but it's unlikely anyone will understand what you mean!
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.
“Just to the bottom of the xiphoid process,” Ms. Boyle said.
From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2017
Actually, the “lump” is the xiphoid process, the quarter-size cartilaginous end of the bony sternum.
From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2017
The small xiphoid process forms the inferior tip of the sternum.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
The inferior tip of the sternum is the xiphoid process.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Two little girls were united from the xiphoid cartilage to the umbilicus.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)
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.
