collarbone

Everyday

The collarbone is one of two long thin bones at the front of your body, running from the top of your chest to each shoulder. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about the skeleton, the collarbone (clavicle) joins the arm to the body. In sport and safety, a fall from a bike or horse onto the shoulder can break a collarbone, a common children's injury. Phrases: break your collarbone, a broken collarbone.

Examples

• You can feel your collarbone just below your neck. tree →
• He broke his collarbone when he fell off his bike. tree →
• The doctor put her arm in a sling for her collarbone. tree →
• Each person has two collarbones. tree →
• The scientific name for the collarbone is the clavicle. tree →
• The necklace rested on her collarbone. tree →

Note

Countable: a collarbone, collarbones. Usually one word, sometimes «collar bone». It is called this because it lies where a shirt collar sits.