cartilage

noun car·ti·lage \ ˈkär-tə-lij , ˈkärt-lij \

Definition of cartilage

1 : a usually translucent (see translucent 1) somewhat elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of vertebrate embryos and except for a small number of structures (such as some joints, respiratory passages, and the external ear) is replaced by bone during ossification in the higher vertebrates

2 : a part or structure composed of cartilage

See cartilage defined for English-language learners

See cartilage defined for kids

Examples of cartilage in a Sentence

She fell and damaged some cartilage in her knee.

Recent Examples of cartilage from the Web

Cook reportedly has cartilage and meniscus damage as well.

— profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Dalvin Cook ACL tear (and more) confirmed," 2 Oct. 2017
Fair and his colleagues focused on four types of serious injuries — concussions and damage to the nervous system, bone injuries, torn tissue, and muscle and cartilage injuries.

— gina kolata, New York Times, "Cost of Contact in Sports Is Estimated at Over 600,000 Injuries a Year," 29 Sep. 2017
But sharks, which are made mostly of cartilage, lack this kind of hard, calcified tissue.

— National Geographic, "272-Year-Old Shark Is Longest-Lived Vertebrate on Earth," 11 Aug. 2016
In babies, the hip socket is made of soft, pliable cartilage.

— elizabeth millard, SELF, "This Athlete Was Born Without Hip Sockets—and Now She's Running Her First Marathon," 3 Nov. 2017
There was a little blip on the scans that might show potential cartilage damage.

— scott horner, Indianapolis Star, "Gordon Hayward opens up about suffering his leg injury," 1 Nov. 2017
Even 15 years removed from college football, Weinacht can list the college injuries that still bother him: sore shoulders, a screw in his foot and a knee that never recovered from a torn ACL and cartilage damage.

— ian mcmahan, SI.com, "Athletes Are Paying the Physical Price of Playing College Sports," 31 Oct. 2017
Derived from the cartilage and bones of animals, gelatin helps create a chewy, soft texture.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Trick or meat: Here's what's inside that candy corn," 26 Oct. 2017
Surgeons then moved skin from her scalp and cartilage from her ear to help close the enormous gap.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Woman Shares Photo Journey After "Pimple" Turns Out to Be Skin Cancer," 11 Sep. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of cartilage

Middle English, from Latin cartilagin-, cartilago

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Other Anatomy Terms

bilateral symmetry, carotid, dorsal, entrails, prehensile, renal, solar plexus, supine, thoracic, ventral

CARTILAGE Defined for English Language Learners

cartilage

noun

Definition of cartilage for English Language Learners

: a strong but flexible material found in some parts of the body (such as the nose, the outer ear, and some joints)

CARTILAGE Defined for Kids

cartilage

noun car·ti·lage \ ˈkär-tə-lij \

Definition of cartilage for Students

: tough flexible tissue that makes up most of the skeleton of vertebrates during early development and except for in a few places in the body (as the nose or outer ear) is replaced by bone

Medical Dictionary

cartilage

noun car·ti·lage \ ˈkärt-ᵊl-ij, ˈkärt-lij \

medical Definition of cartilage

1 : a usually translucent somewhat elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of vertebrate embryos and except for a small number of structures (as some joints, respiratory passages, and the external ear) is replaced by bone during ossification in the higher vertebrates

2 : a part or structure composed of cartilage