tendon
noun
Simple meaning
The hamstring of a quadruped.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tehnduhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɛndən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
biology
The hamstring of a quadruped.
anatomy
A cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment
construction
A wire or bar used to strengthen prestressed concrete.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The hamstring of a quadruped.
Used this way, tendon is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- sinew , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A large tendon that runs from the heel to the calf.
One of the tendons at the back of the knee.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Inflammation of a tendon and its enveloping sheath.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: hamstring of a quadruped
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.