meniscus
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to meniscus: meniscus tear
anterior view of a knee joint
me·nis·cus
(mə-nĭs′kəs)n. pl. me·nis·ci (-nĭs′ī, -kī, -kē) or me·nis·cus·es
1. A crescent-shaped body.
2. A concavo-convex lens.
3. The curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a container that is concave if the liquid wets the container walls and convex if it does not.
4. A cartilage disk that acts as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet in a joint.
me·nis′cal (-kəl), me·nis′cate′ (-kăt′), me·nis′coid′ (-koid′), men′is·coi′dal (mĕn′ĭs-koid′l) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
meniscus
(mɪˈnɪskəs)n, pl -nisci (-ˈnɪsaɪ) or -niscuses
1. (General Physics) the curved upper surface of a liquid standing in a tube, produced by the surface tension
2. a crescent or half-moon-shaped body or design
3. (Anatomy) a crescent-shaped fibrous cartilage between the bones at certain joints, esp at the knee
4. (General Physics) a crescent-shaped lens; a concavo-convex or convexo-concave lens
[C17: from New Latin, from Greek mēniskos crescent, diminutive of mēnē moon]
meˈniscoid adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
me•nis•cus
(mɪˈnɪs kəs)n., pl. -nis•ci (-ˈnɪs aɪ, -ˈnɪs kaɪ, -ki) -nis•cus•es.
1. a crescent or a crescent-shaped body.
2. the convex or concave upper surface of a column of liquid, the curvature of which is caused by surface tension.
3. a concavo-convex or convexo-concave lens.
4. a wedge of cartilage between the articulating ends of the bones in certain joints.
[1685–95; < New Latin < Greek mēnískos crescent, diminutive of mḗnē moon]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
me·nis·cus
(mə-nĭs′kəs)1. A lens that is concave on one side and convex on the other.
2. The curved upper surface of a column of liquid. The surface is concave if the molecules of the liquid are attracted to the container walls and convex if they are not.
3. A piece of cartilage shaped like a crescent and located at the junction of two bones in a joint, such as the knee. See more at joint.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  meniscus - (anatomy) a disk of cartilage that serves as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet at a jointanatomy, general anatomy - the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals |
| 2. | meniscus - (optics) a lens that is concave on one side and convex on the other lens, lens system, lense - a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images optics - the branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light | |
| 3. | meniscus - (physics) the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a vertical tube surface - the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary; "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface" natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions; "his favorite subject was physics" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
meniscus
n pl <menisci> → Meniskus m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
me·nis·cus
n. menisco, estructura cartilaginosa de forma lunar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
meniscus
n (pl -ci) menisco; torn — menisco rotoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.