shoulder blade

noun

plural shoulder blades

: either of a pair of large, flat, triangular-shaped bones that lie above the rib cage on either side of the upper back : scapula

a fractured shoulder blade

He has a wing-shaped tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades.

—Cliff Mehrtens

… types who didn't wash and grew hair to their shoulder blades.

—Curtis W. Casewit

Examples of shoulder blade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trujillo-Ayala was taken to Stanford Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries including a broken arm and shoulder blade. —Jason Green, Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2025

My first arrow had pierced his rib cage and then ripped through to lodge in a shoulder blade. —Ray Alt, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2025

The Godolphin colt’s regular rider, Junior Alvarado, fractured a shoulder blade in a racing spill Sunday and will be replaced by Manny Franco. —Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025

Squeeze your shoulder blades together and downward (don't let your shoulders shrug upward). —David Kesselman, Verywell Health, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shoulder blade

• accolade
• ambuscade
• antegrade
• balustrade
• barricade
• cannonade
• cavalcade
• centigrade
• chambermaid
• colonnade
• countertrade
• disobeyed

Kids Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: the flat triangular bone of the back of the shoulder that forms a joint with the humerus of the upper arm

called also scapula

Medical Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: scapula