ankle

noun

an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl 

1

: the joint between the foot and the leg

also : the region of this joint

2

: the joint between the cannon bone and pastern (as in the horse)

Examples of ankle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Forward Napheesa Collier was upgraded to questionable on the team’s initial injury report but still missed her sixth straight game with a sprained right ankle. —Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 22 Aug. 2025

That’s also the target for INF/OF Tommy Edman (ankle), RHP Brock Stewart (shoulder) and RHP Brusdar Graterol (shoulder). —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025

Dolphins cornerback Cornell Armstrong appeared to hurt his ankle while warming up for practice on Thursday. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2025

Jennifer Lawrence elevated the most basic ballet flats by doubling down on millennial kitsch, opting for a stiff gold bangle on one foot and two mismatched ankle chains on the other. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ancle, ankill, perhaps going back to an unattested Old English outcome of Germanic *ankula- (whence Old Frisian & Middle Dutch ankel "ankle," Old High German anchal) alongside *ankila- (whence 16th-century Dutch enckel "ankle," Middle Low German enkel, Old High German enchil) and *ankilōn-, *ankulōn- (whence Old High German anchla, anchala, anchila "ankle," Old Norse ǫkkla), diminutive of a base seen in *ankjōn- (whence Old High German ancha, anca "limb, nape of the neck," Old Norse ekkja "heel"), of uncertain origin

Note: Middle English ancle is often presumed to have been borrowed from a Scandinavian predecessor (with a preserved nasal consonant) of the Norse etymon attested as ǫkkla in Old Icelandic. Complicating the already complex mixture of forms given above are Middle English anclee, anclowe and their modern dialect descendants such as ancliff, ankley, which go back to Old English anclēow, anclēowe "ankle," cognate with Old Frisian onklef, anklef, Middle Dutch anclau, anclief, Old High German anchlao; these appear to show conflation with the outcomes of Germanic *klawō- "claw" (as Old English clawu, clēa "claw, hoof"; see claw entry 1). Germanic *ankula- is usually further identified with Indo-European *h₂eng-(e)lo- (see angle entry 1), though the etymon could equally well be derived within Germanic from the base *ank- seen in Old High German ancha. The latter has been connected with Sanskrit áṅgam "limb, member" and aṅgúliḥ, aṅgúriḥ "finger, toe," which appears to have suffixation similar to Germanic *ankula-.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ankle

• ankle biter
• ankle sock

Kids Definition

ankle

noun

an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl 

: the joint between the foot and the leg

also : the region of this joint

Medical Definition

ankle

noun

an·​kle ˈaŋ-kəl 

1

a

: the joint between the foot and the leg that constitutes in humans a ginglymus joint between the tibia and fibula above and the talus below

called also ankle joint

b

: the region of the ankle joint

2

: the joint between the cannon bone and pastern (as in the horse)