femur

noun

fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfe-mə-rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
ˈfem-rə
1
: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that extends from the hip to the knee

called also thigh bone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body

Examples of femur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The bullet shattered his femur and left countless bullet fragments that surgeons were unable to remove. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026 Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026 Three in the forelegs (the humerus, radius, and ulna) and two in the hind legs (femur and tibia). — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026 Two thicker cartilage crescents — the menisci — cushion the space between the femur and tibia. — Aaron Steckelberg, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for femur

Word History

Etymology

New Latin femor-, femur, from Latin, thigh

First Known Use

1666, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of femur was in 1666

Rhymes for femur

See All Rhymes for femur

Browse Nearby Words

femtosecond
femur
fen
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Cite this Entry

“Femur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/femur. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

femur

noun
fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
1
: the long bone of the hind or lower limb extending from the hip to the knee

called also thighbone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body
femoral
ˈfem-(ə-)rəl
adjective

Medical Definition

femur

noun
fe·​mur ˈfē-mər How to pronounce femur (audio)
plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə How to pronounce femur (audio)
1
: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that is the longest and largest bone in the human body, extends from the hip to the knee, articulates above with the acetabulum by a rounded head connected with the shaft of the bone by an oblique neck bearing a pair of trochanters for the attachment of muscles, and articulates with the tibia below by a pair of condyles

called also thigh bone

2
: the segment of an insect's leg that is third from the body

More from Merriam-Webster on femur

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about femur

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