femur

noun

fe·mur | \ˈfē-mər

plural femurs or femora\ˈfe-mə-rə,

ˈfem-rə \

Definition of femur

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

Examples of femur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The titanosaur’s femur alone could encase a full grown human male. — Steve Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Giant new Máximo is loaded into Field Museum, taking the place of Sue," 23 May 2018 The condition occurs when the head of the femur slips on the growth plate of the hip, causing pain, spasms and limited range of motion. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "Surgeons are using 3-D-printed organs to figure out the best way to operate," 11 June 2018 Scalise still needs either crutches or a cane to get around after having nine surgeries to repair his pelvis, hip and left femur left shattered by bullets, CNN reported. — Natalie Dreier, ajc, "Rep. Steve Scalise to return to field one year after Congressional Baseball shooting," 14 June 2018 The victim sustained an open fracture to one of his femurs, but the injury was not considered life-threatening, Delimitros said. — Alex Riggins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Pedestrian struck, injured in City Heights," 7 July 2018 Brennan Long, then 16, suffered two fractured femurs — a life-threatening injury — after he was restrained by a Binet School staff member in 2014. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "Father of boy whose legs were broken at school calls for JCPS takeover," 6 June 2018 Another woman, an 18-year-old medical student, had been shot in the right leg, and the bullet broke her femur. — Joshua Partlow, chicagotribune.com, "Inside the church where Nicaraguan paramilitaries laid siege on university students," 14 July 2018 The pair struggled over her cellphone, and A’Hearn shot her once in one leg, shattering her femur as the bullet went into her other leg. — Guillermo Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, "S.A. man who carjacked and shot postal worker gets 20 years for crime spree," 12 July 2018 The faux femurs also don’t include soft tissue such as cartilage, so surgery can still contain unexpected twists. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "Surgeons are using 3-D-printed organs to figure out the best way to operate," 11 June 2018

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.

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Last Updated

16 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for femur

The first known use of femur was circa 1726

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More Definitions for femur

femur

noun

English Language Learners Definition of femur

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

See the full definition for femur in the English Language Learners Dictionary

femur

noun

fe·mur | \ˈfē-mər

plural femurs or femora\ˈfe-mə-rə \

Kids Definition of femur

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

femur

noun

fe·mur | \ˈfē-mər

plural femurs or femora\ˈfem-(ə-)rə

Medical Definition of femur

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