femur

noun

fe·​mur ˈfē-mər 

plural femurs or femora ˈfe-mə-rə 

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

After a broken femur, a broken vertebrae and a torn elbow ligament requiring Tommy John surgery, Booser again broke his back while riding a bike. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2025

Now, there are additional ligaments running along the sides of each of your knees to connect the femur and tibia. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

Breaks in long bones, like the femur in your thigh, can be relatively straightforward to repair with a rod. —Lydia Denworth, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2025

Within 48 hours, two human legs and a femur were found washed up on the California shoreline. —Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 28 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin femor-, femur, from Latin, thigh

First Known Use

1666, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for femur

• beamer
• creamer
• dreamer
• lemur
• reamer
• schemer
• steamer
• streamer
• redeemer

Kids Definition

femur

noun

fe·​mur ˈfē-mər 

plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə 

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 

plural femurs or femora ˈfem-(ə-)rə 

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