jawlike

[ jaw-lahyk ]

adjective

1. resembling a jaw or pair of jaws. jaw.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jawlike¹

jaw ¹ + -like

Example Sentences

Most carnivorous plants are full-time predators—the Venus fly trap, for example, lies in wait year-round to snag flies with its jawlike leaves.

From Science Magazine

Yonggang Hu, a developmental biologist at Indiana University in Bloomington, suspected a link between beetle horns and wings after discovering last year that gin traps—defensive jawlike organs on beetles’ abdomens—rely on wing genes to grow.

From Science Magazine

Pelican spiders, so-called because of a long neck and long jawlike appendages, make a living by hunting and killing other spiders.

From Seattle Times

Venus flytraps get their nutrients from the insects they lure with nectar and trap with a pair of jawlike leaves.

From New York Times

Fifty feet above the deck, crane trolleys flew through the air, their jawlike spreaders plucking boxes from the giant vessel’s hold.

From New York Times