shoulder blade

noun

plural shoulder blades

: either of a pair of large, flat, triangular-shaped bones that lie above the rib cage on either side of the upper back : scapula

a fractured shoulder blade

He has a wing-shaped tribal tattoo between his shoulder blades.

—Cliff Mehrtens

… types who didn't wash and grew hair to their shoulder blades.

—Curtis W. Casewit

Examples of shoulder blade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Drawing your shoulder blades together and engaging your lats, pull your elbows back. —Alyssa Ages, Outside Online, 20 Dec. 2024

Banded Row This exercise strengthens your upper back muscles, such as your rear delts and lats, which can improve your ability to control your shoulder blades. —Jakob Roze, Health, 17 Dec. 2024

As Isaac Shultz of Gizmodo reports, the shoulder blade contains a puncture word that’s embedded with a bone fragment from Apex’s own tail. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024

The backstrap is a super lean and tender strip of meat that runs along a deer’s spine, stretching from the shoulder blades to the last vertebra. —Alice Jones Webb, Outdoor Life, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: the flat triangular bone of the back of the shoulder that forms a joint with the humerus of the upper arm

called also scapula

Medical Definition

shoulder blade

noun

: scapula