Standard Lemma guide

jugular

adj · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.jʊl.ə/
  • General-American: /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.jəl.ɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈd͡ʒu.ɡjəl.ɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.əl.ɚ/
  • General-American: /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.lɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌɡjʊlə(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -uːɡjʊlə(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -ʌɡələ(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: JH UW1 G Y AH0 L ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Relating to, or located near, the neck or throat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Relating to, or located near, the neck or throat.

Of or pertaining to the jugular vein.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Having ventral fins attached under the throat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Relating to juggling.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, not-comparable, relational

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Ellipsis of jugular vein.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, in-plural, rare

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Any critical vulnerability.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, in-plural, rare

Examples

  • It was vicious; he went for the jugular.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective

Meaning 7

relating to or located in the region of the neck or throat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • jugular vein

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a vital part that is vulnerable to attack

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he always goes for the jugular

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: weak part, weak spot, soft spot

9

noun

Meaning 9

veins in the neck that return blood from the head

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: jugular vein, vena jugularis

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vein, vena, venous blood vessel

Narrower terms: anterior jugular vein, external jugular vein, internal jugular vein

History

Etymology

Late 16th century borrowing from Late Latin jugulāris, from jugulum (“the collarbone; the hollow part of the neck above the collarbone; the throat”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to jugulum + -ar.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: отнасящ се до шията (otnasjašt se do šijata) — relating to the neck or throat
  • Catalan: jugular — relating to the neck or throat
  • Chinese Mandarin: 頸的 /颈的 (jǐng de) — relating to the neck or throat
  • Czech: jugulární — relating to the neck or throat
  • Czech: hrdelní — relating to the neck or throat
  • Czech: krční — relating to the neck or throat
  • Dutch: jugulair — relating to the neck or throat
  • Finnish: kaula- — relating to the neck or throat
  • French: jugulaire — relating to the neck or throat
  • Galician: xugular — relating to the neck or throat
  • Greek: τραχηλικός (trachilikós) — relating to the neck or throat
  • Ido: faucala — relating to the neck or throat
  • Marathi: गल- (gal-) — relating to the neck or throat
  • Polish: szyjny — relating to the neck or throat
  • Portuguese: jugular — relating to the neck or throat
  • Russian: ше́йный (šéjnyj) — relating to the neck or throat
  • Spanish: yugular — relating to the neck or throat
  • Chinese Mandarin: 頸靜脈的 /颈静脉的 (jǐngjìngmài de) — relating to the jugular vein
  • Finnish: akilleenkantapää — critical vulnerability