Beau's lines

noun plural

: transverse grooves or ridges on a fingernail or toenail that occur from a temporary disruption in nail growth (such as that resulting from severe illness, malnutrition, or chemotherapy)
The nails of someone who had pneumonia several weeks previously may show transverse grooves—these "Beau's lines" attest to the nutritional insult to the "nail plate" (the growing part, under the cuticle).John Stone, The New York Times Magazine

Dictionary Entries Near Beau's lines

Cite this Entry

“Beau's lines.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/Beau%27s%20lines. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


Love It or Hate It

  • heart-fire
  • When asked about her blind date, Carol spoke for hours with vitriol.
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY