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Glite Dictionary
breastbone

breastbone

6 3.4
A flat chest bone that the ribs and collarbones join and that protects the heart and lungs
  • noun
  • /ˈbrɛstboʊn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : esternón
  • In traditional open-heart surgery, patients have their breastbones sawed in half to access their hearts.
  • breastbone (sternum)
  • breastbone to navel
  • hand on her breastbone

I took the entire breastbone of the Turkey out.

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Examples

  • Susannah put a hand to her breastbone in a mingling of surprise, consternation, and amusement.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • His right hand gripped the knife below his breastbone.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I took the entire breastbone of the Turkey out.

    Ear Biscuits

  • Standing behind her, he linked his hands under her breastbone.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Shall I extend the incision, sir, from the breastbone to the diaphragm?

    Bean (1997)

  • Her right fist pressed against her breastbone, and her left hand gripped her right.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Isabelle closed her eyes, a familiar ache beginning in the center of her breastbone.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • With Vinnie helping, she worked silently and quickly, removing the breastbone and exposing the internal organs.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Then the wagon lurched to a halt, so that Isabelle bruised her breastbone against the siderail.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Open-heart surgery, moreover, usually involves a sternotomy—splitting the breastbone from neck to abdomen and prying it open.

    Academic text (1998)

Synonyms

sternum
vsbreastbone
  • Specialized
23 4.1

A long flat bone in the middle of the chest that connects the ribs and collarbones

is an alternative common name for the same bone

Surface Forms

breastbone singular
breastbones plural

Morphology

breastbone = breast + bone (transparent) = breast + bone

A literal compound whose meaning ('the bone at the breast/chest') is directly derivable from its parts.

Etymology

The word breastbone combines breast ('chest') and bone, so it literally means the bone at the front of your chest that helps protect your heart and lungs.