humerus

noun hu·mer·us \ ˈhyü-mə-rəs \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Definition of humerus

plural humeri play \ˈhyü-mə-ˌrī, -ˌrē\

: the long bone of the upper arm or forelimb extending from the shoulder to the elbow

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See humerus defined for kids

Recent Examples of humerus from the Web

Those ligaments connect the humerus (the long bone in your upper arm between the elbow joint and shoulder) and the ulna (the long, thinner bone in your forearm on the opposite side of your thumb).

— gabriel baumgaertner, SI.com, "With Violent Elbow Injuries Behind Him, Braves Reliever Dan Winkler Is Pitching Like an All-Star," 4 July 2018
Remember the figure-8 that fastens the tendon to the medial epicondyle, that small bump on your humerus bone?

— gabriel baumgaertner, SI.com, "With Violent Elbow Injuries Behind Him, Braves Reliever Dan Winkler Is Pitching Like an All-Star," 4 July 2018
In other cases, the ulnar nerve does not stay in its place (the groove between the humerus bone, your upper arm, and ulna bone in the lower arm) and snaps back and forth over the bony bump of the elbow during motion, like a rubber band.

— tj gibson, azcentral, "Get back in the game: Don’t let Cubital Tunnel Syndrome limit you," 9 May 2018
But it was limited to four measurements of the skull and three of long bones — the tibia, humerus and radius.

— amy mcrary, USA TODAY, "‘I think we found her’: Researcher says bones from Pacific island likely belong to Amelia Earhart," 8 Mar. 2018
The owl's humerus was still viable, the nerves were still intact and the circulation good, Convy said.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Who wins: truck versus owl, and the owl survives," 8 May 2018
The rhino skeleton had cut marks on 13 of its bones and both of its humerus bones were cracked open, giving feasting hunters access to its marrow.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "700,000-Year-Old Butchered Rhino Pushes Back Ancient Human Arrival in the Philippines," 4 May 2018
Come to find out, there was a tumor there on my humerus exactly where the break happened.

— kristen jordan shamus, Detroit Free Press, "Livingston mom battles breast cancer with experimental treatments to help other patients," 22 Apr. 2018
Swapping in the relief tendon involves the surgeon drilling holes in the ulna and humerus bones and threading them in a figure-8 pattern with the healthy tissue.

— robbie gonzalez, WIRED, "Why It's Almost Impossible for Fastballs to Get Any Faster," 12 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of humerus

Middle English, from Latin humerus, umerus upper arm, shoulder; akin to Goth ams shoulder, Greek ōmos

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Anatomy Terms

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HUMERUS Defined for English Language Learners

humerus

noun

Definition of humerus for English Language Learners

medical : the long bone of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow

HUMERUS Defined for Kids

humerus

noun hu·mer·us \ ˈhyu̇-mə-rəs \

Definition of humerus for Students

plural humeri \-ˌrī, -ˌrē\

: the long bone of the upper arm or forelimb that extends from the shoulder to the elbow

Medical Dictionary

humerus

noun hu·mer·us \ ˈhyüm-(ə-)rəs \

medical Definition of humerus

plural humeri play \ˈhyü-mə-ˌrī, -ˌrē\

: the longest bone of the upper arm or forelimb extending from the shoulder to the elbow, articulating above by a rounded head with the glenoid cavity, having below a broad articular surface divided by a ridge into a medial pulley-shaped portion and a lateral rounded eminence that articulate with the ulna and radius respectively, and providing various processes and modified surfaces for the attachment of muscles