floating rib

noun

, Anatomy.

1. one member of the two lowest pairs of ribs, which are attached neither to the sternum nor to the cartilages of other ribs.

floating rib

noun

1. any rib of the lower two pairs of ribs in man, which are not attached to the breastbone

Word History and Origins

Origin of floating rib¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Recalling their childhood, he remembers how his twin sister used to recite the names of bones “in an eerie voice as I held a pillow over my head: sternum, tibia, floating rib.”

From Los Angeles Times

Lulu would have known them all by heart: sternum, tibia, floating rib.

From The New Yorker

By eleven she’d memorized every bone in the human body, and she used to recite their names to me at night in an eerie voice as I held a pillow over my head: sternum, tibia, floating rib.

From The New Yorker

She told Good Morning Britain that doctors plan to use her "floating rib" to complete the procedure.

From BBC

“I want to learn more about chinchillas. I know they have floating rib cages.”

From Washington Times