anatomy

noun

anat·o·my | \ ə-ˈna-tə-mē

plural anatomies

Definition of anatomy

1 : a branch of morphology that deals with the structure of organisms

2 : a treatise on anatomical science or art

3 : the art of separating the parts of an organism in order to ascertain their position, relations, structure, and function : dissection

4 obsolete : a body dissected or to be dissected

5 : structural makeup especially of an organism or any of its parts the anatomy of birds human anatomy

6 : a separating or dividing into parts for detailed examination : analysis the anatomy of a marriage

7a(1) : skeleton

(2) : mummy

b : the human body wore an outfit that showed off various parts of her anatomy

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Examples of anatomy in a Sentence

We had to take a class on anatomy. learning about the anatomies of different types of birds learning about the anatomy of an earthquake

Recent Examples on the Web

Nearby is a sketch, also in orange paint, of part of the male anatomy. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Vandals spray paint letters, phallic symbol on new turf at West Hartford high school," 5 July 2019 The online course has four modules including an introduction to the course, shark fishing regulations, shark-smart fishing and shark anatomy and identification. — Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, "New Florida law requires shark fishing permit; here are the details," 1 July 2019 Fourth-graders, for example, learn basic anatomy and puberty lessons. — Lily Altavena, azcentral, "Sex ed in Arizona: How does it work? What are schools allowed to teach?," 24 June 2019 The esthetic training curriculum generally includes skin-care basics, skin anatomy and physiology, safety and sanitation guidelines, infection control, and procedures such as facials and waxing. — Sara Coughlin, SELF, "How to Know If You Should See an Esthetician or a Dermatologist," 18 June 2019 The research, published on June 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists from the UK and US, focused on anatomy and behavior. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "Why you think your dog loves you," 18 June 2019 Benedikt Hallgrimson, the head of cell biology and anatomy at the University of Calgary, agreed with that assessment. — Washington Post, "Police use DNA tool to identify the dead, find suspects," 1 May 2018 The fakes aren’t flawless—the software doesn’t know the rules of human anatomy and struggles with backgrounds and earrings. — Tom Simonite, WIRED, "Artificial Intelligence Is Coming for Our Faces," 24 June 2019 Spina bifida is often discovered during routine anatomy scans performed when a fetus is around 18 weeks old, the hospital says. — Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, "Cleveland Clinic performs its first fetal surgery to repair spina bifida," 20 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anatomy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.