hard palate

noun

: the bony anterior part of the palate forming the roof of the mouth

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Then the scientists took MRI scans of the participants’ hard palate, the bony roof of the mouth. —Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 23 Aug. 2019

Over 50 generations, the transmission of sounds amplified the slight differences of the hard palate the team reported Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior. —Roni Dengler, Discover Magazine, 23 Aug. 2019

But the girl’s nose and hard palate died from the infection and had to be removed. —Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 15 Nov. 2022

Dangling from the hard palate, burrowed in the nooks and crannies of the tongue and intertwined in the plaque on teeth are the many hundreds of species that make up the human oral microbiome. —Eryn Brown, Smithsonian, 8 Nov. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1779, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hard palate

noun

: the bony front part of the roof of the mouth

Medical Definition

hard palate

noun

: the bony anterior part of the palate forming the roof of the mouth