femur

play

noun fe·mur \ˈfē-mər\

Definition of femur

plural

femurs

femora

play \ˈfe-mə-rə, ˈfem-rə\

1 : the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that extends from the hip to the knee —called also thighbone
2 : the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body

See femur defined for English-language learners

See femur defined for kids

Recent Examples of femur from the Web

The ball portion is at the top of the thigh bone, or femur.

— julie washington, cleveland.com, "Surgical robot aids in hip replacement surgery at St. Vincent (photos, video)", 25 June 2017
Other firms flourished, peddling hip implants, artificial femurs and bone plates for children.

— danielle paquette, Alaska Dispatch News, "In one slice of the Midwest, a labor shortage weighs on the economy", 21 June 2017
In particular, the microstructure of the dinosaur’s femur shows a feature called an External Fundamental System, accepted as a marker of fully adult body size.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Jurassic Dinosaur Was a Jumbo Shrimp", 19 June 2017
But for Kraddick, there was another factor: Before Caroline was born in 1990, doctors told Kraddick and his then-wife, Carol, that their baby might be born with a twisted femur and be unable to walk.

— robert philpot, star-telegram, "Caroline Kraddick fulfills dream of 1st Kidd’s Kids trip for teens", 15 June 2017
He was shot six times, suffered a broken femur from being trampled by a panicked crowd, and has undergone four operations to regain the ability to walk.

— chuck hadad, CNN, "5 faces of the Orlando Pulse attack, a year later", 12 June 2017
The fossil belonging to the bison is part of a front leg, while the sloth fossil is a femur-head fragment, The Source reported.

— mindy weisberger senior writer, Fox News, "Ancient Sloth and Bison Fossils Turn Up in LA Metro Dig", 5 June 2017
A litany of critical medical procedures followed, including hip, femur and knee replacements and the removal of a kidney.

— sam roberts, New York Times, "Raymond J. Pfeifer, 9/11 Firefighter Who Sought Care for Survivors, Dies at 59", 30 May 2017
After that, Alex faces months of physical therapy on a leg that has an artificial hip and knee in addition to the femur.

— donna mcguire, kansascity, "Tenth birthday in KC is extra special for British boy beating back cancer", 27 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of femur

New Latin femor-, femur, from Latin, thigh

NEW!

First Known Use: circa 1726

See Words from the same year

FEMUR Defined for English Language Learners

femur

play

noun

Definition of femur for English Language Learners

medical : the long bone in the upper part of the leg

FEMUR Defined for Kids

femur

play

noun fe·mur \ˈfē-mər\

Definition of femur for Students

plural

femurs

femora

\ˈfe-mə-rə\

: the long leg bone that extends from the hip to the knee

Medical Dictionary

femur

play

noun fe·mur \ˈfē-mər\

Medical Definition of femur

plural

femurs

femora

\ˈfem-(ə-)rə\play

1: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that is the longest and largest bone in the human body, extends from the hip to the knee, articulates above with the acetabulum by a rounded head connected with the shaft of the bone by an oblique neck bearing a pair of trochanters for the attachment of muscles, and articulates with the tibia below by a pair of condyles—called also thigh bone
2: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body