fibula

noun

fib·u·la | \ ˈfi-byə-lə

plural fibulae\ ˈfi-byə-lē

, -lī \ or fibulas

Definition of fibula

1 : the outer and usually smaller of the two bones between the knee and ankle in the hind or lower limbs of vertebrates

2 : a clasp resembling a safety pin used especially by the ancient Greeks and Romans

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Whiteside gets a new chance in Portland, which needs a center while Jusuf Nurkic recovers from a fractured fibula and tibia sustained on March 25 . . — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, "Here’s why the Celtics made the right call in hiring Kara Lawson," 6 July 2019 Colt McCoy will likely be back in the mix at some point over the summer after fracturing his fibula in Week 12 last season. — Albert Breer, SI.com, "NFC East Offseason Reports: How Long Will Eli Manning Remain Under Center for Giants?," 11 June 2019 For now, a tight rope holds together his two leg bones until the syndesmotic ligament can heal itself, and a metal plate, with eight screws, stabilizes the fractured fibula. — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, "Nick Fitzgerald Rehabs and Readies to Embrace an Offense That Could Make Him Better Than Ever," 27 June 2018 My fibula had pierced through my skin and had to be hammered and screwed back into place. — Sarah Gad, Marie Claire, "My Drug Overdose Saved My Life. Now I'm Saving Others.," 15 Mar. 2019 This was a close competition with Jack Youngblood, the five-time All-Pro who's most famous for playing the 1979 season's playoffs on a broken fibula. — Chris Chase, USA TODAY, "The best all-time draft picks for each NFC team," 7 Mar. 2018 The Saints are placing guard Andrus Peat on injured reserve with a broken fibula, a source familiar with the situation confirmed. — Herbie Teope, NOLA.com, "Saints placing guard Andrus Peat on injured reserve: source," 10 Jan. 2018 His team of 15 specialists helped create a nasal passage for Stubblefield, as well as patch her face and form jawbones using her fibula and titanium. — Alexandria Hein, Fox News, "Face transplant gives woman 'second chance' 3 years after suicide attempt," 14 Aug. 2018 Atletico left back Felipe Luis played his first match since recovering from a broken fibula in his left leg in March. — Joseph Wilson, chicagotribune.com, "La Liga Recap: Atletico Madrid suffer first home loss against Espanyol," 6 May 2018

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

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16 Jul 2019

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The first known use of fibula was in 1578

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More Definitions for fibula

fibula

noun

English Language Learners Definition of fibula

medical : the outer one of the two bones below the knee in a person's leg

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

fibula

noun

fib·u·la | \ ˈfi-byə-lə

plural fibulae\ -ˌlē , -ˌlī \ or fibulas

Kids Definition of fibula

: the outer and smaller of the two bones between the knee and ankle

fibula

noun

fib·u·la | \ ˈfib-yə-lə

plural fibulae\ -lē also -ˌlī \ or fibulas

Medical Definition of fibula

: the outer or postaxial and usually the smaller of the two bones of the hind or lower limb below the knee that is the slenderest bone of the human body in proportion to its length, articulates above with the external tuberosity of the tibia and below with the talus, and has its lower end forming the external malleolus of the ankle

— called also calf bone