: a bone of the part of the hand or forefoot between the carpus and the phalanges that typically contains five more or less elongated bones when all the digits are present
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Adjective
Prison officials said the metacarpal intra-articular base fracture, sometimes called a Bennett or Rolando fracture, to Templin’s thumb was caused by Templin repeatedly punching a wall.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 13 June 2024
Merely two hours after the game it was announced that Barnes had suffered a fracture to his third metacarpal bone in his left hand and is now out indefinitely.
—Esfandiar Baraheni, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024
Noun
The rookie right-handed reliever fractured the fifth metacarpal in the pinky of his non-throwing hand after Monday night’s win over the Houston Astros.
—Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 25 July 2024
In addition to an up-close look at the screw holding Patel's fifth metacarpal in place and allowed filming to continue, the shirt had a bubble printed on the front to represent the movie's COVID quarantine and a cartoon monkey — a nod to the movie — gracing the back.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Metacarpal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metacarpal. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
metacarpal
1 of 2 adjective
meta·car·pal
ˌmet-ə-ˈkär-pəl
: of, relating to, or being the part of the hand or front foot or a bone of this part that is between the carpal bones and the bones of the fingers or toes
metacarpal
2 of 2 noun
: a metacarpal bone
Medical Definition
metacarpal
1 of 2 adjective
meta·car·pal
ˌmet-ə-ˈkär-pəl
: of, relating to, or being the metacarpus or a metacarpal
metacarpal
2 of 2 noun
: any bone of the metacarpus of the human hand or the front foot in quadrupeds
More from Merriam-Webster on metacarpal
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about metacarpal
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