thorax

noun

tho·​rax ˈthȯr-ˌaks 

plural thoraxes or thoraces ˈthȯr-ə-ˌsēz 

1

: the part of the vertebrate body between the neck and the abdomen

If you count the vertebrae in the necks and thoraxes of mice and chickens, you will find that a mouse has seven neck and 13 thoracic vertebrae, a chicken 14 and seven, respectively.

—Matt Ridley

also : thoracic cavity

The thorax is evaluated for fluid at the flanks and for pneumothorax anteriorly.

—Christoper L. Moore

2

: the middle of the three chief divisions of the body of an insect

Of nearly a million described species of insects, none has a biramous appendage, and nearly all have exactly three pairs of limbs on the thorax.

—Stephen Jay Gould

This haunting pitch issues from drum tissue stretched over the thorax of the male annual cicada …

—Ted Williams

also : the corresponding part of a crustacean or an arachnid

The brown recluse spider … is brown and has fuzzy body hair and a dark violin- or pear-shaped band on the dorsum of its thorax.

—Peter F. Weller

Examples of thorax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Insects have three body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen) and six legs (three pairs), while spiders have two body segments (cephalothorax and abdomen) and eight legs (four pairs). —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2024

The crowning touch is a giant mosquito with a lava lamp on its thorax; the whole thing is made of a bunch of dumb American junk. —Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2024

Unlike bees, which are typically fatter and fuzzier, wasps have a distinctive hourglass shape with a very thin waist where the thorax and abdomen meet. —Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2024

If an infected wound is identified, the ants then treat said wound with antibiotics produced by a special gland on the side of the thorax (the metapleural gland). —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 2 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin thorac-, thorax breastplate, thorax, from Greek thōrak-, thōrax

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

thorax

noun

tho·​rax ˈthō(ə)r-ˌaks 

ˈthȯ(ə)r-

plural thoraxes or thoraces ˈthōr-ə-ˌsēz 

ˈthȯr-

1

: the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen

also : its cavity in which the heart and lungs lie

2

: the middle of the three main divisions of the body of an insect

Medical Definition

thorax

noun

tho·​rax ˈthō(ə)r-ˌaks, ˈthȯ(ə)r- 

plural thoraxes or thoraces ˈthōr-ə-ˌsēz, ˈthȯr- 

1

a

: the part of the body in vertebrates that is situated between the neck and the abdomen and supported by the ribs, costal cartilages, and sternum

b

: thoracic cavity

2

: the middle of the three chief divisions of the body of an insect

also : the corresponding part of a crustacean or an arachnid