Phrase guide

occipital bone

noun · 2 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The bone at the back of the skull in humans and various other animals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a saucer-shaped membrane bone that forms the back of the skull

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: membrane bone

History

Etymology

From Latin occiput; compare ob- (“towards, against”) and caput (“head”)

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: соңҡа (soñqa) — bone at the back of the skull
  • Czech: týlní kost — bone at the back of the skull
  • Estonian: kuklaluu — bone at the back of the skull
  • Finnish: takaraivonluu — bone at the back of the skull
  • German: Hinterhauptbein — bone at the back of the skull
  • German: Hinterhauptsbein — bone at the back of the skull
  • Ancient Greek: ἰνίον (iníon) — bone at the back of the skull
  • Hungarian: nyakszirtcsont — bone at the back of the skull
  • Korean: 뒤통수뼈 (dwitongsuppyeo) — bone at the back of the skull
  • Polish: potylica — bone at the back of the skull
  • Turkish: oksipital kemik — bone at the back of the skull