occipital bone

noun

Definition of occipital bone

: a compound bone that forms the posterior part of the skull and bears a condyle by which the skull articulates with the atlas

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Another bullet fractured her occipital bone, near the base of her neck, and the third struck the upper chest, the report said. — Erin Hegarty, Elgin Courier-News, "Decynthia Clements was shot twice in the head by Elgin cop, had cocaine in her system, medical examiner's report says," 30 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'occipital bone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of occipital bone was in 1679

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occipital bone

noun

Medical Definition of occipital bone

: a compound bone that forms the posterior part of the skull and surrounds the foramen magnum, bears the condyles for articulation with the atlas, is composed of four united elements, is much curved and roughly trapezoidal in outline, ends in front of the foramen magnum in the basilar process, and bears on its external surface behind the foramen magnum the two curved transverse superior and inferior nuchal lines as well as the median external occipital crest and external occipital protuberance