Dermal

adj, noun

adj, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A body piercing consisting of an object positioned partially below and partially above the skin.

    "Anchors with holes in the heel and toe of the foot are for dermals that are meant to be permanent. As the piercing heals, the tissue attaches to the foot around the holes, anchoring it in."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to skin or integument (or other forms of tissue) not-comparable

    "Near-synonyms: epidermal, epidermo-"

Adjective
  1. 1
    relating to or existing on or affecting the skin wordnet
  2. 2
    of or relating to or located in the dermis wordnet
  3. 3
    of or relating to a cuticle or cuticula wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cutaneouscorticalcutanealcutanealcutaneocutaneo-

Example

More examples

"U.S. researchers say dermal fat cells, known as adipocytes, produce peptides or proteins that shield against invading bacteria."

Etymology

From derm + -al. First attested in the early 19th century.

Related phrases

dermal bone

More for "dermal"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.