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

The 'saur had a jaw powerful enough to crush the bones of other dinosaurs – and, while contested, calculations based on skeletal anatomy and muscle mass suggest that a T. rex in a hurry could have moved at speeds of 17 miles an hour or more. — Brian Switek, Smithsonian, "How We Elected T. rex to be Our Tyrant Lizard King," 21 June 2018 His research focuses on the anatomy and evolution of dinosaurs. — Steve Mirsky, Scientific American, "Dinosaurs: From Humble Beginnings To Global Dominance," 23 May 2018 She was born with androgen insensitivity syndrome, a condition that caused her to have external female anatomy and, internally, undescended testes instead of a uterus. — Diane Stopyra, Marie Claire, "Dear Parents-to-Be: Stop Celebrating Your Baby's Gender," 5 July 2017 Human anatomy devotes more space in the skull to the brain than a chimp’s does. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "What humpback whales can teach us about alien languages," 6 Dec. 2018 Some of those adaptations, like the one Fernandez and his colleagues studied, look pretty subtle to anyone who is not a specialist in primate foot anatomy. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "The road to bipedalism wasn’t straight and narrow," 15 Aug. 2018 The professor, Anita Moss, is a senior lecturer specializing in human anatomy and human physiology in the UTSA biology department. — Charlotte West, Teen Vogue, "University of Texas San Antonio Professor Allegedly Calls Police on Black Student for Putting Feet Up," 13 Nov. 2018 Instead of covering your whole face with its internal anatomy, try just a quarter of it by outlining your jawbone, teeth and eye socket with fluorescent hues. 24. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "27 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes You Can Do With Just Makeup," 10 Oct. 2018 Google Expeditions provided virtual headsets for students to experience different parts of the world, parts of the human body’s anatomy and other learning experiences. — Jacob Mcadams, Houston Chronicle, "Education Foundation hosts annual Red and Black Gala," 24 Apr. 2018

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.