clavicle

[ klav-i-kuhl ]

noun

, Anatomy, Zoology.

1. a bone of the pectoral arch.
2. (in humans) either of two slender bones, each articulating with the sternum and a scapula and forming the anterior part of a shoulder; collarbone.

clavicle

/ kləˈvɪkjʊlə; kləˈvɪkjʊˌleɪt; ˈklævɪkəl /

noun

1. either of the two bones connecting the shoulder blades with the upper part of the breastbone Nontechnical namecollarbone
2. the corresponding structure in other vertebrates

clavicle

/ klăv′ĭ-kəl /

1. Either of two slender bones that extend from the upper part of the sternum (breastbone) to the shoulder.
2. Also called collarbone

Derived Forms

• claviculate, adjective
• clavicular, adjective

Other Words From

• cla·vic·u·lar [kl, uh, -, vik, -y, uh, -ler], adjective
• cla·vic·u·late [kl, uh, -, vik, -y, uh, -leyt], adjective
• subcla·vicu·lar adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clavicle¹

1605–15; < Medieval Latin clāvicula collarbone, Latin: tendril, door-bolt, little key, equivalent to clāvi ( s ) key + -cula -cule ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of clavicle¹

C17: from Medieval Latin clāvicula, from Latin clāvis key

Example Sentences

But that same weekend I traced the contours of a stranger’s clavicle in an Upper East Side art gallery and then interviewed her.

From New York Times

A fractured right clavicle ended his sophomore season, before he separated his right AC joint as a junior in 2021.

From Seattle Times

“The flesh is consumed and becomes water … the abdomen fills with water, the feet and legs swell, the shoulders, clavicles, chest, and thighs melt away. … The illness is fatal.”

From Science Magazine

Or when Polk dislocated his clavicle on the first play of the 2021 season, was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery and returned nine games later.

From Seattle Times

On the day of the Oxford shooting, a bullet traveled through Ossege’s clavicle and ribs and exited her back, causing a concussion of the spinal cord that left her briefly paralyzed.

From Seattle Times