metacarpal

UK: /ˌmɛtəˈkɑːp^əl/ US: (met′ə kär′pəl)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

met•a•car•pal  (met′ə kär′pəl), adj. [Anat.]

1. Anatomy of or pertaining to the metacarpus.

n. 

2. Anatomy a metacarpal bone.

• meta- + carpal 1730–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

metacarpal / ˌmɛtəˈkɑːp^əl/ adjective

1. of or relating to the metacarpus

noun

1. a metacarpal bone

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

met•a•car•pus /ˌmɛtəˈkɑrpəs/   n., pl. -pi /-paɪ/.  

1. Anatomy the bones between the wrist and the fingers.

met•a•car•pal, adj., n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

met•a•car•pus  (met′ə kär′pəs), n., pl. -pi (-pī). [Anat.]

1. Anatomy the part of a hand or forelimb, esp. of its bony structure, included between the wrist, or carpus, and the fingers, or phalanges. See diag. under skeleton. 

• Greek metakárpion
• Neo-Latin (see meta-, carpus), replacing metacarpium
• 1670–80