shoulder blade

noun

plural shoulder blades

: either of a pair of large, flat, triangular-shaped bones that lie above the rib cage on either side of the upper back : scapula

a fractured shoulder blade

He has a wing-shaped tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades.

—Cliff Mehrtens

… types who didn't wash and grew hair to their shoulder blades.

—Curtis W. Casewit

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Lift shoulder blades off mat, raise legs so knees are bent at 90 degrees, and gaze at thighs, keeping neck relaxed. —Emily Shiffer, Women's Health, 8 Apr. 2023

Without losing tension or lifting your arms or legs, shift your weight to your right glute and shoulder blade. —Brett Williams, Men's Health, 24 Mar. 2023

The Riviera's seats are chair-high and offer good support, all the way from your shoulder blades down to the backsides of your knees. —Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 8 Mar. 2023

This shot will definitely get the lungs, and is apt to also wreck the shoulder blade and some of the spine as well. —David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, meaning the arm bone form a ball that glides around inside of the concave portion of the shoulder blade. —Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 24 Jan. 2023

He’s had several rounds of MRIs, and his most recent imaging showed full healing in the shoulder blade. —Jake Seiner, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2022

But injuries to his elbow, forearm and shoulder blade have limited him to 26 starts over the past two seasons. —Schuyler Dixon, ajc, 3 Dec. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: the flat triangular bone of the back of the shoulder that forms a joint with the humerus of the upper arm

called also scapula

Medical Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: scapula