wrist
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ristIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɪst
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
anatomy
The complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus in a narrow sense.
engineering
A stud or pin which forms a journal.
verb
ice hockey
To hit a wrist shot.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The complex joint between forearm bones, carpus, and metacarpals where the hand is attached to the arm; the carpus in a narrow sense.
Used this way, wrist is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- 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
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- radiocarpal joint , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use wrist
- “I accidentally sprained my wrist playing sports yesterday afternoon.”
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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.
Protective garment consisting of a pad worn by football players.
Pin joining a piston to a connecting rod.
A joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones.
Any of the eight small bones of the wrist of primates.
A band or bracelet worn around the wrist.
A watch that is worn strapped to the wrist.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Band consisting of a part of a sleeve that covers the wrist.
A watch that is worn strapped to the wrist.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: complex joint between forearm bones or carpus
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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.