femur

noun

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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 But between the cancer and chemotherapy, his leg had become so brittle that his femur fractured during the surgery. — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2022 Orr originally suspected that Arlington Man hailed from the end of the Ice Age, based in part on his femur’s location, 37.5 feet beneath the present surface. — Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2021 The steering is heavy, the pedals take a determined right femur to operate, and leaving any parking lot attracts a crowd that may break out into spontaneous applause. — John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 20 Apr. 2022 In their post, the humane society team said X-rays revealed the fall had broken Ludwig's femur and three metacarpal bones that required a specialized surgery to repair, an operation that would cost $7,000 at minimum. — Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 25 Feb. 2022 Dating back to between 3516 and 3365 B.C.E., the femur is one of the oldest objects ever found in the Thames, wrote Time Out’s Alice Saville. — Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022 Rotationplasty surgery was introduced in the 1930s to treat congenital deficiencies in the femur. — Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2022 The researchers compared the length and circumference of the femur, or thigh bone, of 24 T. rex specimens. — Katie Hunt, CNN, 28 Feb. 2022 The top of the femur in the hip is the most common bone affected, but many other bones can be affected. — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 6 Oct. 2021 See More

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

25 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Femur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/femur. Accessed 26 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for femur

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