meniscus

noun

me·​nis·​cus mə-ˈni-skəs 

plural menisci mə-ˈni-ˌskī 

-ˌskē,

-ˌsī

also meniscuses

1

: a crescent or crescent-shaped body

2

: a concavo-convex lens

3

: the curved upper surface of a column of liquid

4

: a fibrous cartilage within a joint especially of the knee

Examples of meniscus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Leonard played in only two games, unable to finish the series against the Phoenix Suns because of a meniscus tear in his right knee. —Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

The Mavs looked differently with Kristaps Porzingis as the second star but the Latvian only played in three of the six games averaging 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 52% shooting from three-point range before being sidelined by a torn lateral meniscus. —Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Apr. 2024

Since recently returning from meniscus surgery in his left knee, Embiid averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in his final five appearances of the regular season. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024

According to the Mayo Clinic, a torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries, and causes pain, swelling and stiffness. —Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024

New signing Fede Redondo, who played well in his first two games, went down with a meniscus tear in his knee and will miss two months. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024

Starting two-guard junior Celena Watson then tore her meniscus and had to be shut down for the year. —Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 5 Feb. 2024

Last week, Minnesota lost Karl-Anthony Towns to a meniscus tear. —Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024

Star center Joel Embiid remains sidelined with a meniscus injury, while backup forward Robert Covington is still working his way back from a knee injury that has kept him out for the past two months. —Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek mēniskos, from diminutive of mēnē moon, crescent — more at moon

First Known Use

1685, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

meniscus

noun

me·​nis·​cus mə-ˈnis-kəs 

plural menisci -ˈnis-ˌ(k)ī 

-ˌkē

also meniscuses

: the curved upper surface of a liquid column

Medical Definition

meniscus

noun

me·​nis·​cus mə-ˈnis-kəs 

plural menisci -ˈnis-ˌ(k)ī, -ˌkē  also meniscuses

1

: a crescent or crescent-shaped body

2

: a fibrous cartilage within a joint:

a

: either of two crescent-shaped lamellae of fibrocartilage that border and partly cover the articulating surfaces of the tibia and femur at the knee : semilunar cartilage:

(1)

: one mostly between the lateral condyles of the tibia and femur

called also external semilunar fibrocartilage, lateral meniscus, lateral semilunar cartilage

(2)

: one mostly between the medial condyles of the tibia and femur

called also internal semilunar fibrocartilage, medial meniscus, medial semilunar cartilage

b

: a thin oval ligament of the temporomandibular joint that is situated between the condyle of the mandible and the mandibular fossa and separates the joint into two cavities

3

: a concavo-convex lens

4

: the curved upper surface of a liquid column that is concave when the containing walls are wetted by the liquid and convex when not