mandible

noun

man·​di·​ble ˈman-də-bəl 

1

a

: jaw sense 1a

especially : a lower jaw consisting of a single bone or of completely fused bones

b

: the lower jaw with its investing soft parts

c

: either the upper or lower segment of the bill of a bird

2

: any of various invertebrate mouthparts serving to hold or bite food materials

especially : either member of the anterior pair of mouth appendages of an arthropod often forming strong biting jaws

mandibular

man-ˈdi-byə-lər 

adjective

mandibulate

man-ˈdi-byə-lət 

adjective

Examples of mandible in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An international team of researchers from China, Spain and the United Kingdom unearthed the skull — specifically the mandible, or lower jaw — in the Hualongdong region of eastern China in 2015, along with 15 other specimens, all thought to originate from the late Middle Pleistocene period. —Hafsa Khalil, CNN, 10 Aug. 2023

When the mandible was discovered, it was still encased in a hard travertine block and only partially exposed. —Brian Anthony Keeling, The Conversation, 2 May 2023

Face, eye socket, jaw, mandible broken. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2023

His liver was also pierced by one of his rib bones, and his right knee, right ankle, left leg tibia, left ankle, right clavicle, right shoulder, eye socket, and jaw mandible were broken. —Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2023

At some point during his stay, the monk found a strange mandible — a single length of jawbone studded with a handful of enormous molars. —Richard Pallardy, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2022

Following up on a Denisovan mandible found in Tibet in 2019, a Denisovan molar was recently discovered in Laos. —Ryan McRae and Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2022

Writing in Nature in May, a separate team announced that a partial mandible, or jawbone, found in a cave on the Tibetan Plateau, came from a Denisovan. —Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 30 Dec. 2019

The bees soon cut several holes in the leaves of each plant using their mandibles and proboscises. —Jim Daley, Scientific American, 21 May 2020

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin mandibula, from Latin mandere to chew; probably akin to Greek masasthai to chew

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

mandible

noun

man·​di·​ble ˈman-də-bəl 

1

a(1)

: a lower jaw of a vertebrate consisting of a single bone or of bones that are completely united

(2)

: the lower jaw with its surrounding soft parts

b

: either the upper or lower part of the bill of a bird

2

: either of the first pair of mouthparts of some invertebrates and especially arthropods (as an insect or crustacean) that often form biting organs

Medical Definition

mandible

noun

man·​di·​ble ˈman-də-bəl 

1

a

: jaw sense 1

especially : jaw sense 1b

b

: the lower jaw with its investing soft parts

2

: any of various invertebrate mouthparts serving to hold or bite food materials

especially : either member of the anterior pair of mouth appendages of an arthropod often forming strong biting jaws