Definition of opposable in English:
opposable
adjective əˈpəʊzəb(ə)ləˈpoʊzəbəl
Zoology (of the thumb of a primate) capable of facing and touching the other digits on the same hand.
Example sentencesExamples
- Their hands had only three digits: two fingers and an opposable thumb.
- In other words, our ancestral rodents did not merely evolve gradually until they emerged as bipeds with opposable thumbs.
- The first 2 digits of their forefeet are opposable to the other three in the more arboreal species.
- A panda with a fully opposable thumb that is lacking in its nearest relatives is hard to explain via evolution.
- Digits 1 and 2 on the forefeet are opposable to digits 3-5, and the hindfoot has a well-developed hallux.
Definition of opposable in US English:
opposable
adjectiveəˈpoʊzəbələˈpōzəbəl
Zoology (of the thumb of a primate) capable of moving toward and touching the other digits on the same hand.
Example sentencesExamples
- Digits 1 and 2 on the forefeet are opposable to digits 3-5, and the hindfoot has a well-developed hallux.
- A panda with a fully opposable thumb that is lacking in its nearest relatives is hard to explain via evolution.
- Their hands had only three digits: two fingers and an opposable thumb.
- In other words, our ancestral rodents did not merely evolve gradually until they emerged as bipeds with opposable thumbs.
- The first 2 digits of their forefeet are opposable to the other three in the more arboreal species.