femur

noun fe·mur \ ˈfē-mər \

Definition of femur

plural femurs or 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

Perschall's mother, Sharon Perschall, said the bullet grazed the ball joint of her son's hip and broke his femur.

— emily lane, NOLA.com, "Man booked in gun battle outside Magazine Street salon," 30 Aug. 2017
The force broke not only her ankle and femur, but also her nose and shoulder.

— lyndsey matthews, Country Living, "This Is Why You Should Never Put Your Feet on the Dashboard of a Car," 9 Aug. 2017
Like the Apatosaurus femur that sits at the end of the oversize collection space at the Natural History Museum of Utah, propped up on a stand.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "A Fossil Bird in the Hand...," 2 Aug. 2017
Indigenous people, and many from Central America, tend to have short femurs.

— benjamin preston, Fortune, "A 9-Day Journey Along the Most Controversial Strip of Land in Trump’s America," 24 July 2017
Unfortunately, one mother learned as much when her 3-year-old son fell and broke his femur while jumping on a trampoline.

— lindsey lanquist, SELF, "This 3-Year-Old's Injury Is a Reminder of How Dangerous Trampolines Can Be," 13 July 2017
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
A portion of his left arm was amputated and both legs were shattered from the femur down.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "Vestavia Hills woman charged in wrong-way DUI crash that critically injured 24-year-old man," 23 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

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! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1726

See Words from the same year

FEMUR Defined for English Language Learners

femur

noun

Definition of femur for English Language Learners

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

FEMUR Defined for Kids

femur

noun fe·mur \ ˈfē-mər \

Definition of femur for Students

plural femurs or femora \ˈfe-mə-rə\

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

Medical Dictionary

femur

noun fe·mur \ ˈfē-mər \

medical Definition of femur

plural femurs or femora play \ˈfem-(ə-)rə\

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