maxilla
noun
max·il·la
mak-ˈsi-lə 
plural maxillae
mak-ˈsi-(ˌ)lē
-ˌlī
or maxillas
1
a
b(1)
: an upper jaw especially of humans and other mammals in which the bony elements are closely fused
(2)
: either of the two bones that lie with one on each side of the upper jaw lateral to the premaxilla and that in higher vertebrates bear most of the teeth
2
: one of the first or second pair of mouthparts posterior to the mandibles in many arthropods (such as insects or crustaceans)
Examples of maxilla in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office decided to reopen the Gacy file in 2011 as a cold case, exhuming bone fragments and sending eight sets of mandibles and maxilla to the CHI lab in Fort Worth for DNA processing.
—
David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Jan. 2024
Thomas' team looked at the maxilla, or the upper part of the dog's jaw, because those tooth roots are best for DNA sampling, and researchers were able to pull samples from three specimens.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023
Small skeletal details such as the shape of the upper jaw bone called the maxilla, the head of the thigh bone and the foot bones of Scleromochlus are similar to those of other reptiles proposed to be related to pterosaur origins.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Oct. 2022
The front of his face — his nose, maxilla, sinuses, jaw — projected forward like a canine skull — what an anthropologist would call prognathous.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2021
Later today, Garvey will operate on a man with a more difficult case—a large tumor in the maxilla, or top jaw—as part of two surgical teams.
—Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, 1 Feb. 2020
Bereino had found a maxilla, or upper jawbone, belonging to an ancient hominin.
—Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019
Just feet away from where Bereino had found the maxilla, Haile-Selassie soon spotted what turned out to be most of the remaining skull.
—Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019
Using high resolution micro-CT scanning, Dr. Weber created a 3D replica of the upper left maxilla that allowed him to investigate its surface features and, virtually, to remove enamel from the teeth.
—Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
David Montesino, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Jan. 2024
Thomas' team looked at the maxilla, or the upper part of the dog's jaw, because those tooth roots are best for DNA sampling, and researchers were able to pull samples from three specimens.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023
Small skeletal details such as the shape of the upper jaw bone called the maxilla, the head of the thigh bone and the foot bones of Scleromochlus are similar to those of other reptiles proposed to be related to pterosaur origins.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Oct. 2022
The front of his face — his nose, maxilla, sinuses, jaw — projected forward like a canine skull — what an anthropologist would call prognathous.
—Dwight Garner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2021
Later today, Garvey will operate on a man with a more difficult case—a large tumor in the maxilla, or top jaw—as part of two surgical teams.
—Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, 1 Feb. 2020
Bereino had found a maxilla, or upper jawbone, belonging to an ancient hominin.
—Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019
Just feet away from where Bereino had found the maxilla, Haile-Selassie soon spotted what turned out to be most of the remaining skull.
—Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 28 Aug. 2019
Using high resolution micro-CT scanning, Dr. Weber created a 3D replica of the upper left maxilla that allowed him to investigate its surface features and, virtually, to remove enamel from the teeth.
—Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, 25 Jan. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Maxilla.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maxilla. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
maxilla
noun
max·il·la
mak-ˈsil-ə
plural maxillae
-ˈsil-ē
-ˈsil-ˌī
or maxillas
1
a
: an upper jaw especially of a mammal in which the bony parts are closely united
b
: either of the two bones of the upper jaw in higher vertebrates including human beings that bear most of the teeth
2
: one of the first or second pair of mouth appendages behind the mandibles in various arthropods
Medical Definition
maxilla
noun
max·il·la
mak-ˈsil-ə
plural maxillae
-ˈsil-(ˌ)ē
-ˌī
or maxillas
-ˌī
or maxillas
1
2
a
: an upper jaw especially of humans or other mammals in which the bony elements are closely fused
b
: either of two membrane bone elements of the upper jaw that lie lateral to the premaxillae and that in higher vertebrates including humans bear most of the teeth
3
: one of the first or second pair of mouthparts posterior to the mandibles in insects, myriopods, crustaceans and closely related arthropods
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share