maxillary

/makˈsɪl.ə.ɹi/US/ˈmæk.səˌlɛɹ.i/

maxillary adjective: of or relating to the jaw or jawbone. Also the alternative form of maxilla.

Adjective

maxillary (not comparable)

Of or relating to the jaw or jawbone.
Of or pertaining to the maxillae of an arthropod.

Noun

maxillary (plural maxillaries)

A tooth growing from the upper jawbone.
- A tendon extends from the inner surface of the dentary to the postero-lateral surface of the maxillary near the ball and socket joint.1928, Edna May Keeler, A Comparative Study of the Muscles Controlling the Maxillary Tentacles of the Siluridae, page 42

Also used as

maxillary is also the alternative form of maxilla.

maxillary meaning in Arabic

maxillary in Arabic

of or pertaining to the jaw: فَكِّيّ fakkiyy

Forms of maxillary

Adjective
alternative form	maxillar
Noun
plural	maxillaries

Origin of maxillary

Borrowed from Latin māxillāris (“of or belonging to the jaw”), from māxilla (“the jawbone, jaw”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to maxilla + -ary.

Phrases with maxillary

Words that rhyme with maxillary

32 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about maxillary

What does maxillary mean?: Maxillary means of or relating to the jaw or jawbone.
What is maxillary in Arabic?: Maxillary in Arabic is فَكِّيّ (fakkiyy). See Maxillary meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is maxillary?: Maxillary can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce maxillary?: Maxillary is pronounced /makˈsɪl.ə.ɹi/ (UK).

Words near maxillary in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: maxillary (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-maxillary.wav.

Cite this entry: “maxillary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/maxillary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.