humerus

noun

hu·​mer·​us ˈhyü-mə-rəs 

plural humeri ˈhyü-mə-ˌrī  -ˌrē 

: the long bone of the upper arm or forelimb extending from the shoulder to the elbow

Examples of humerus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The medical procedure Buttgereit broke her humerus, the upper-arm bone that meets two other bones and forms the elbow. —Katheryn Houghton, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025

Lucky’s left upper arm bone, or humerus, and Lucky II’s right upper arm bone both show a clean, slanted fracture, suggesting they were twisted by powerful wind gusts. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025

The findings contained fossils of vertebrae, ribs, humerus, ulna, fibula and foot bones. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2025

Within a few months, the doctors removed most of the cancer in his shoulder—including the entire humerus bone—and replaced it with a donor bone. —Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin humerus, umerus upper arm, shoulder; akin to Goth ams shoulder, Greek ōmos

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for humerus

• humorous
• numerous

Kids Definition

humerus

noun

hu·​mer·​us ˈhyüm-(ə-)rəs 

plural humeri ˈhyü-mə-ˌrī 

-ˌrē

: the long bone of the upper arm or forelimb that extends from the shoulder to the elbow

Medical Definition

humerus

noun

hu·​mer·​us ˈhyüm-(ə-)rəs 

plural humeri ˈhyü-mə-ˌrī  -ˌrē 

: the longest bone of the upper arm or forelimb extending from the shoulder to the elbow, articulating above by a rounded head with the glenoid cavity, having below a broad articular surface divided by a ridge into a medial pulley-shaped portion and a lateral rounded eminence that articulate with the ulna and radius respectively, and providing various processes and modified surfaces for the attachment of muscles