meta·tar·sal
ˌme-tə-ˈtär-səl 
: of, relating to, or being the part of the human foot or of the hind foot in quadrupeds between the tarsus and the phalanges that in humans comprises five elongated bones which form the front of the instep and ball of the foot
: a metatarsal bone
Examples of metatarsal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
That’s why the most common locations for stress reactions are in the bones of the feet, such as the calcaneus, fifth metatarsal, sesamoid, talar neck and tarsal navicular, and in the bones of the legs, such as the anterior tibial cortex, femoral neck and femoral head.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Torres started three of them, having worked his way back from a broken metatarsal, with two clean sheets.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for metatarsal
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.
Adjective
Manager Dave Roberts said the right-hander suffered a metatarsal injury and won't be ready for the start of the regular season.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
That’s why the most common locations for stress reactions are in the bones of the feet, such as the calcaneus, fifth metatarsal, sesamoid, talar neck and tarsal navicular, and in the bones of the legs, such as the anterior tibial cortex, femoral neck and femoral head.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Noun
Furthermore, Japanese center-back Hiroki Ito broke his metatarsal at the beginning of the season and then struggled with complications from the injury in the spring.
—Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Torres started three of them, having worked his way back from a broken metatarsal, with two clean sheets.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for metatarsal
Cite this Entry
“Metatarsal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metatarsal. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
metatarsal
1 of 2 adjective
meta·tar·sal
ˌmet-ə-ˈtär-səl
: of, relating to, or being the part of the foot in human beings or of the hind foot in a four-footed animal that is located between the tarsal bones and the toes
metatarsal
2 of 2 noun
: any of the metatarsal bones of which there are five in human beings
Medical Definition
metatarsal
1 of 2 adjective
meta·tar·sal
ˌmet-ə-ˈtär-səl
: of, relating to, or being the part of the human foot or of the hind foot in quadrupeds between the tarsus and the phalanges that in humans comprises five elongated bones which form the front of the instep and ball of the foot
metatarsal
2 of 2 noun
: a metatarsal bone
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share