pectoral

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
An elaborate pectoral, a masterpiece of jewelry making, contains a rare, yellow-green glass stone carved in the shape of a scarab beetle that some scientists believe to be a fragment of an ancient meteorite.

View all »
Definitions (38)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. adjective Relating to or situated in the breast or chest: a pectoral muscle; the pectoral cavity.
  2. adjective Useful in relieving disorders of the chest or respiratory tract.
  3. adjective Worn on the chest or breast: a pectoral cross.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (26)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • They have expanded pectoral-fin rays so they can glide for several seconds above the water. —  Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, February 2005
  • Those same formidable fingernails, now tinted pearly pink for comedy's sake, touched the telltale bulge of cartilage just above the cheesy gilt pectoral (Ancient Egyptian kitsch-on-a-budget R Us). —  F ;SF; - vol 092 issue 05 - May 1997
  • Birds' sternums are a great deal more than surfaces of origin for the pectoral muscles—e.g. —  The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley Volume 3
  • An elaborate pectoral, a masterpiece of jewelry making, contains a rare, yellow-green glass stone carved in the shape of a scarab beetle that some scientists believe to be a fragment of an ancient meteorite. —  San Francisco Sentinel
  • Backup cornerback Scott Starks (pectoral) was listed as questionable. —  - Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 78 times.

On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably Latin pectorālis, from pectus, pector-, breast. N., sense 4, Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pectorāle, breastplate, from neuter of pectorālis.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. I. adjective = F. Spanish pectoral = Portuguese peitoral = Italian pettorale, from Latin pectoralis, pertaining to the breast, from pectus (pector-), the breast, the breast-bone. II. n. from Late Latin pectorale, a breastplate, neuter of pectoralis, adjective Hence ult. poitrel.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »

/ˈpɛktərəl/
by American Heritage

Charts

frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word several times a year.

Recently looked up

dinna · purloiner · is · final · scenarios

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

its not like im ugly people tell me im pretty · be careful! the razor is razor-sharp! · minty-fresh death threat · please stop sucking the monkeybread · beauregard