dorsal

noun (1)

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dor·sal | \ ˈdȯr-səl

variant of dossal

: an ornamental cloth hung behind and above an altar

dorsal

adjective

dor·sal | \ ˈdȯr-səl

Definition of dorsal (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : relating to or situated near or on the back especially of an animal or of one of its parts

2 : abaxial

dorsal

noun (2)

Definition of dorsal (Entry 3 of 3)

: a dorsally located part especially : a thoracic vertebra

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Examples of dorsal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun For king salmon, a notch is made in their adipose fin, the small fin on their backs between their large, dorsal fin and their tail. — Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "King salmon reign shrinks, but more precariously on changing Great Lakes," 23 Oct. 2017 For king salmon, a notch is made in their adipose fin, the small fin on their backs between their large, dorsal fin and their tail. — Keith Matheny, USA TODAY, "King salmon reign becomes more precarious on changing Great Lakes," 23 Oct. 2017 Every white cap is a head sticking out of the water, every piece of flotsam is a dorsal fin. — James Griffiths, CNN, "Soon all of Hong Kong's dolphins will be dead," 21 Sep. 2017 Late at night, the ids of his callers and guests flash like dorsal fins. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, "A Late-Night Radio Drama, With Hints of the Internet to Come," 21 Sep. 2017 Also called suckerfish, their strong grip comes from an adhesive disk made from a modified dorsal fin on the fish’s head. — Science | AAAS, "This robotic ‘remora’ can cling to objects with a force 340 times its own weight," 20 Sep. 2017 The hook goes through the bridge of the nose, or in just behind the dorsal fin. — Frank Sargeant, AL.com, "Live baiting for Alabama bass," 10 Sep. 2017 In rats, for example, females typically have less-dense receptors in the dorsal hippocampus, which is involved in memory, than do males. — Alison Gopnik, WSJ, "Do Men and Women Have Different Brains?," 25 Aug. 2017 A dorsal fin would have looked less out of place in the photo than a vehicle. — Amy B Wang, Washington Post, "Harvey turned part of Interstate 10 into a roaring river — with actual waves," 30 Aug. 2017 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective But sometimes hooking a minnow just under the dorsal fin or at the tail triggers strikes from more finicky crappies. — Bob Mcnally, Field & Stream, "The 8 Best Live Bait Rigs for Crappie Fishing," 4 Mar. 2020 The prefrontal cortex is involved in decision making; the dorsal periaqueductal gray area processes painful and aversive events. — Cody A. Siciliano, The Conversation, "Brain activity predicts which mice will become compulsive drinkers," 21 Nov. 2019 The relatively small dorsal fin belies the humpback’s size. — Jason Nark, National Geographic, "Whales are dying along East Coast—and scientists are racing to understand why," 13 Mar. 2019 Restylane® Lyft with Lidocaine is also intended for injection in the dorsal hand to correct volume loss. — Vogue, "Celebrity Manicurist Deborah Lippmann on Beauty, Aging, and the Product That Changed her Relationship With her Hands," 1 Apr. 2019 Among the brain’s many pain-producing patterns, however, there is only one region that is consistently active at a high level: the dorsal posterior region of the insula. — Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, "The Neuroscience of Pain," 9 May 2016 Arctic grayling males are more colorful than their female counterparts and sport a much longer dorsal fin. — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "While waiting for winter to become summer, outdoors lovers turn to beauty pageants," 23 Apr. 2018 To add support for the dual origin hypothesis, Dr. Linz said, evolution would have had to fuse a structure on the dorsal region of the segment and one from the pleural tissue. — Asher Elbein, New York Times, "Insects Flew Before Anything Else Did. So How Did They Get Their Wings?," 26 Mar. 2018 Conversely, Willamette chinook may be longer and a bit leaner, with less dorsal brilliance. — Bill Monroe, OregonLive.com, "Columbia, Willamette spring salmon have different coloring," 29 Mar. 2018

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