OSSICLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ossicle mean? 

• OSSICLE (noun)
  The noun OSSICLE has 1 sense:

1. a small bone; especially one in the middle ear

  Familiarity information: OSSICLE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OSSICLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small bone; especially one in the middle ear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

bonelet; ossicle; ossiculum

Hypernyms ("ossicle" is a kind of...):

bone; os (rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ossicle"):

auditory ossicle (ossicles of the middle ear that transmit acoustic vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear)

Holonyms ("ossicle" is a part of...):

middle ear; tympanic cavity; tympanum (the main cavity of the ear; between the eardrum and the inner ear)

Derivation:

ossicular (pertaining to the ossicles in the middle ear)

 Context examples 

The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear.

(Ear Disorders, NIH)

The part of the ear including the eardrum and ossicles.

(Middle Ear, NCI Thesaurus)

The middle ear is made up of an air-filled cavity behind the tympanic membrane that contains the ossicles (malleus, incus and stapes).

(Ear, NCI Thesaurus)

The organ of hearing: composed of the external ear, which includes the auricle and the external acoustic, or auditory, meatus; the middle ear, or the tympanic cavity with its ossicles; and the internal ear or inner ear, or labyrinth, which includes the semicircular canals, vestibule, and cochlea.

(Murine Ear, NCI Thesaurus)