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jawbone

American  
[jaw-bohn] / ˈdʒɔˌboʊn /

noun

  1. a bone of either jaw; a maxilla or mandible.

  2. the bone of the lower jaw; mandible.

verb (used with or without object)

jawboned, jawboning

  1. Informal. to attempt to influence or pressure by persuasion rather than by the exertion of force or one's authority, as in urging voluntary compliance with economic guidelines.

    The president jawboned the steel industry into postponing price increases.

adjective

  1. Informal. obtained by or resorting to such a practice.

    jawbone controls.
jawbone British  
/ ˈdʒɔːˌbəʊn /

noun

  1. a nontechnical name for mandible maxilla

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to try to persuade or bring pressure to bear (on) by virtue of one's high office or position, esp in urging compliance with official policy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • jawboning noun

Etymology

Origin of jawbone

First recorded in 1480–90; jaw 1 + bone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Titanium posts will be inserted into his jawbone, serving as new roots for the teeth.

From Los Angeles Times

The jawboning by finance officials appears to have delivered the same result as actually intervening in the market—at least for now.

From The Wall Street Journal

And it’s not just jawboning that investors have to contend with.

From Barron's

An eardrum positioned within a curved section of the jawbone would have allowed Thrinaxodon to hear airborne sounds far more effectively than relying on bone conduction alone.

From Science Daily

It was found alongside a tooth from a Tyrannosaurus rex and a jawbone from a crocodylian, in a region already known for fossils of the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.