Incus
//ˈɪŋ.kəs// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear.
"The tympanic cavity is spanned by the three smallest bones in the body: the auditory ossicles[…] These bones, named for their shape, are the malleus (malʹe-us; "hammer"); the incus (ingʹkus; "anvil"); and the stapes (staʹpēz; "stirrup")."
- 2 a small bone in the middle ear between the malleus and the stapes wordnet
- 3 an accessory cloud, in the shape of an anvil which forms by spreading at the top of a cumulonimbus.
Example
More examples"The tympanic cavity is spanned by the three smallest bones in the body: the auditory ossicles[…] These bones, named for their shape, are the malleus (malʹe-us; "hammer"); the incus (ingʹkus; "anvil"); and the stapes (staʹpēz; "stirrup")."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin incūs (“anvil”).
Related phrases
More for "incus"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.