noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth, especially those found on bones for the attachment of a muscle or ligament or small elevations on the surface of a tooth.

   "the iliac tubercles"

2. 2
   a protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligament wordnet
3. 3
   A small rounded wartlike protuberance of the roots of some leguminous plants; the lip of certain orchids, cacti.
4. 4
   small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant wordnet
5. 5
   A small rounded nodule forming the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis.

Show 1 more definition

6. 6
   a swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

eminencenoduletuberositynoduletuberosityabscess

Etymology

From Latin tūberculum, q.v.

Related phrases

Darwin's tubercleJavan tubercle snakeMontgomery's tuberclebasal tuberclegenital tubercleolive tuberclepubic tubercle

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