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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
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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
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Recent Examples on the Web Freud to the contrary, anatomy is not destiny, at least not for more than nine months at a time.
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Gloria Steinem, Time, "50 Years Ago, Gloria Steinem Wrote an Essay For TIME About Her Hopes For Women’s Futures. Here’s What She'd Add Today," 5 Mar. 2020 What’s behind the tutu: An anatomy of the costume as seen through Houston Ballet’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’
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Customers will be able to request a different size or color and check stock without leaving the fitting room.
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Marcy De Luna, Houston Chronicle, "Kate Hudson's Fabletics to open at The Galleria," 21 Feb. 2020 The anatomy of each of the pastries is astonishingly varied.
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Helen Czerski, WSJ, "The Delicate Architecture of Puff Pastry," 3 Jan. 2020 The circuit itself could also represent a new treatment target, but the exact human anatomy is unclear, Dalley notes—and addiction is more complex than a single mechanism.
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Simon Makin, Scientific American, "Scientists Spot Addiction-Associated Circuit in Rats," 23 Dec. 2019 In fact, basic anatomy in itself may be the single biggest risk factor for UTIs, urologist Elodi Dielubanza, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and associate surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, tells SELF.
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Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "8 Things You Should Know If You Get Recurrent UTIs," 8 Nov. 2019 Because of the overlapping anatomy, groin injuries almost always include damage to multiple structures.
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Colin Hoobler, oregonlive, "Damian Lillard’s groin injury: How these injuries are treated, what kind of recovery timeline to expect," 13 Feb. 2020 And in this drama of opposing forces, through this brutal dialectic, aspects of each woman’s anatomy are grotesquely eroticized by her adversary: buttocks for the black woman, breasts for her white counterpart.
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Zadie Smith, The New York Review of Books, "What Do We Want History to Do to Us?," 11 Feb. 2020 That Holzemer trained his camera on the portion of the anatomy that Margiela utilized to build his brand is apropos, given that manual craftsmanship drives high fashion.
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Bronwyn Cosgrave, The Hollywood Reporter, "New Martin Margiela Documentary Chronicles Fashion's Most Elusive Designer," 15 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for anatomy
anatomy
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of anatomy
: the study of the structure of living things
: the parts that form a living thing (such as an animal or plant)
informal : a person's body
See the full definition for anatomy in the English Language Learners Dictionary
anatomy
nounanat·o·my | \ ə-ˈna-tə-mē \
\ plural anatomies
Kids Definition of anatomy
1 : a science that has to do with the structure of living things
2 : the structural makeup especially of a person or animal
the anatomy of the cat
anatomy
nounanat·o·my | \ ə-ˈnat-ə-mē \
\ plural anatomies
Medical Definition of anatomy
1 : a branch of morphology that deals with the structure of organisms — compare physiology sense 1
2 : a treatise on anatomic 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 : structural makeup especially of an organism or any of its parts
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The first known use of anatomy was in the 14th century
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