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

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

Depth chart Jalen Ramsey ▪ Skinny: Ramsey was the Dolphins’ top acquisition in the 2023 offseason but a torn meniscus sidelined him for the first seven games of the regular season. —Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024

For the Suns Eric Gordon (right wrist soreness) is listed as questionable, Bol Bol (foot) will miss his sixth straight game, and Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) is out. —Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 26 Jan. 2024

But in his quarterfinal match at Ball Arena, Aidan tore the meniscus in his right knee, forcing him to forfeit the semifinal match and consolation round. —Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024

Other Suns on the injury report are backup big Bol Bol (foot) out for his seventh consecutive absence, and Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery), who's been out all season. —Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 27 Jan. 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