alveolar ridge

noun

1

: the bony ridge or raised thickened border of the upper or lower jaw that contains the sockets of the teeth : alveolar process

It is common for many of the teeth to be displaced from the alveolar ridge into the palate.

—M. A. Kettle et al.

2

: the gum-covered ridge of bone behind the teeth in the upper jaw

Both sounds are fricatives made by creating a partial obstruction between the tongue and the alveolar ridge …

—Cognitive Science

Word History

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1