metacarpal

1 of 2

adjective

meta·​car·​pal ˌme-tə-ˈkär-pəl How to pronounce metacarpal (audio)
: of, relating to, or being the metacarpus or a metacarpal

metacarpal

2 of 2

noun

: a bone of the part of the hand or forefoot between the carpus and the phalanges that typically contains five more or less elongated bones when all the digits are present

Examples of metacarpal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Merely two hours after the game it was announced that Barnes had suffered a fracture to his third metacarpal bone in his left hand and is now out indefinitely. Esfandiar Baraheni, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Evidence for this early development of hands like ours, with opposable thumbs and the ability to apply force in either a strong or delicate grasp, comes from a single metacarpal bone—one of the bones that forms the palm—for a hominin found at a site in Kenya. Anna Goldfield, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Aug. 2021 Gehrke, a standout sophomore forward, fractured a metacarpal bone in his right hand during Antioch’s game against Fremd on Dec. 27, and Wetu made his varsity debut the next day against Niles North. Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2023 The Detroit Pistons will be without Marvin Bagley III for at least six weeks, the team announced Thursday as part of its statement confirming the big’s fractured metacarpal bones in his right hand. Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 6 Jan. 2023 The diagnosis was a fracture in his right ring finger that also went down to the metacarpal bone in his hand. Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 28 Aug. 2022 Eight small, bead-like carpal bones connect to the two lower-arm bones—the ulna and the radius—and to the metacarpal bones of the hand. Esther Smith, Outside Online, 8 Aug. 2021
Noun
Moussa Diabate is the only player on their injury report as he's ruled out with a right-hand metacarpal fracture. Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 8 Jan. 2024 In the 2022 season, Kreidler fractured the fifth metacarpal on his right hand in late April and needed a surgical fix. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 14 June 2023 It's been about eight weeks since the former Whitnall High School star had surgery to repair his right third and fourth metacarpals, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Herro's status is questionable and will be in uniform Monday night at Ball Arena. Emmett Prosser, Journal Sentinel, 12 June 2023 Nance, who has missed several recent games with a sprained right wrist, broke the fourth metacarpal in his hand during the first quarter of the 124-99 loss as the Cavaliers dropped back-to-back games against one of the NBA's best teams. Tom Withers, ajc, 7 Feb. 2021 The delay gives Miami an extra day of rest for outfielder Starling Marte, who suffered a non-displaced fracture of his fifth metacarpal after being plunked on his left hand in Game 1. Wells Dusenbury, sun-sentinel.com, 1 Oct. 2020 Plesac suffered a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand, and Civale, who missed four weeks with a right wrist sprain in July, is making his third trip to the IL after experiencing right forearm inflammation. Joe Noga, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2022 On Friday the Guardians announced that Plesac had suffered a broken fifth metacarpal in the little finger of his right hand. Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 3 Sep. 2022 The righthander suffered a fracture to the fifth metacarpal on his throwing hand after punching his locker following last Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Josh Criswell, Chron, 11 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'metacarpal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1739, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of metacarpal was in 1739

Dictionary Entries Near metacarpal

Cite this Entry

“Metacarpal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metacarpal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

metacarpal

1 of 2 adjective
meta·​car·​pal ˌmet-ə-ˈkär-pəl How to pronounce metacarpal (audio)
: of, relating to, or being the part of the hand or front foot or a bone of this part that is between the carpal bones and the bones of the fingers or toes

metacarpal

2 of 2 noun
: a metacarpal bone

Medical Definition

metacarpal

1 of 2 adjective
meta·​car·​pal ˌmet-ə-ˈkär-pəl How to pronounce metacarpal (audio)
: of, relating to, or being the metacarpus or a metacarpal

metacarpal

2 of 2 noun
: any bone of the metacarpus of the human hand or the front foot in quadrupeds

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