shoulder bone
1
2.5
- noun
- /ˈʃoʊldər boʊn/
- Specialized
:
escápula
Examples
-
"Looks like I broke my shoulder bone here, and I was wondering what the chances would be of you helping me out.
Fiction book (2001) -
Yoshiko's delicate shoulder bones made themselves felt against his fingers.
Fiction book (1992) -
Her hair lay against her long, thin neck, over the fragile shoulder bones and a delicate veneer of skin.
Fiction book (1997) -
She was a slight child, thin at ankle and shoulder bone.
Fiction book (1997) -
Have his shoulder bone... just kinda splice right through his rotator cuff... tear it clean in half.
-
She shrugs, her shoulder bones and neck bones collapsing in on themselves and each other like a hundred matchsticks falling into a haphazard pile.
Fiction book (1997) -
After the fall, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder bone and knew something was wrong.
-
The doctor explained that the shoulder bone is crucial for arm movement and stability.
-
He pointed to the x-ray showing a break in his shoulder bone from the accident.
Synonyms
14
2.4
A flat, triangular bone on each side of the upper back that helps hold the arm
8
7.6
A flat triangular bone on each side of the upper back that helps form the shoulder
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'shoulder' (upper-body area) + 'bone' (skeletal element) clearly denotes the bone associated with the shoulder. This noun–noun compound follows a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Shoulder bone names the flat, triangle-shaped bone at the back of the shoulder that works like a small shelf holding the arm to the body. So shoulder bone simply refers to the bone that 'connects your arm to your body', which is why people say it when the shoulder is hurt.