femur

noun

fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfe-mə-rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
ˈfem-rə
1
: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that extends from the hip to the knee

called also thigh bone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body

Examples of femur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The bones of the hindlimbs, in particular, the femurs seem genuine, although poorly preserved. David Bressan, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Citing a press release, WANE reported that the then-unidentified body was exhumed for testing in 2017 with a femur bone sent to the University of North Texas’ Center for Human Identification for DNA testing to create a profile. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 18 Feb. 2024 From analyzing growth rings found in the femur and tibia bones, the team concluded Jane was a juvenile T. rex, as a T. rex is full-grown at around 20 years old, according to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024 University of Indianapolis Forensic Anthropologist Krista Latham collected DNA samples from Murlin’s left femur and sent it to the University of North Texas’ Center for Human Identification for DNA testing. Artemis Moshtaghian, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024 Scientists found hindlimb bones, and the reptile’s femurs. Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024 Ghattas and her colleagues suspect that’s because men’s fractures tended to be in bones of the lower body, such as the hip and femur, which are more likely to result in a hospital stay than fractures in the upper body. Linda Carroll, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024 About 1,900 years ago, someone in what is now the Netherlands hollowed out a sheep or goat femur, filled it with poisonous, hallucinogenic black seeds and sealed it with tar. Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 8 Feb. 2024 Inside, archaeologists discovered the jade mask, over 16 rare mollusk shells and human femurs carved with hieroglyphics. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

New Latin femor-, femur, from Latin, thigh

First Known Use

circa 1726, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of femur was circa 1726

Dictionary Entries Near femur

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

femur

noun
fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
1
: the long bone of the hind or lower limb extending from the hip to the knee

called also thighbone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body
femoral
ˈfem-(ə-)rəl
adjective

Medical Definition

femur

noun
fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
1
: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that is the longest and largest bone in the human body, extends from the hip to the knee, articulates above with the acetabulum by a rounded head connected with the shaft of the bone by an oblique neck bearing a pair of trochanters for the attachment of muscles, and articulates with the tibia below by a pair of condyles

called also thigh bone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body

More from Merriam-Webster on femur

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