Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A muscle that extends or straightens a limb or body part.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In anatomy, a muscle which serves to extend or straighten any part of the body, as an arm or a finger: opposed to flexor. See cut under muscle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) A muscle which serves to extend or straighten any part of the body, as an arm or a finger; -- opposed to flexor.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy A muscle whose contraction extends or straightens a limb or body part.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a skeletal muscle whose contraction extends or stretches a body part

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin extēnsor, from Latin extēnsus, past participle of extendere, to stretch out; see extend.]

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Examples

  • Accordingly the so-called extensor muscles of the body need frequent action.

    How to Add Ten Years to your Life and to Double Its Satisfactions 1884

  • A projecting structure termed the extensor process (or extensor attachment) is present between the carpal trochlea and the alular digit; it belongs to metacarpal I (also called the alular metacarpal), but this is hard to appreciate in modern birds because metacarpal I is fused imperceptibly into the carpometacarpus as mentioned above [in the adjacent diagram, from

    ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science 2010

  • Some doctors say Nintendonitis is a real condition, caused by inflammation of the thumb's extensor tendon from pressing buttons.

    Dr Luisa Dillner's guide to . . . the health risks of video games 2011

  • What you can't see in this shot is that my feet are actually cut, and (for additional grossness) I can pump up my extensor digitorum brevis muscle so that it's ripped and the veins over it pop.

    total carnage! i love it! arachnejericho 2009

  • Mommy thumb mainly affects two tendons — the abductor pollicis longus, or long thumb abductor, and the extensor pollicis brevis, or short thumb extensor.

    The Baby May Be Giving You Mommy Thumb Dawn Fallik 2010

  • Right-hander Chris Sampson had surgery to repair a lateral extensor tendon in his throwing elbow.

    NLDS notes: Dodgers' co-ace trumps Cubs 2008

  • It tends to be on extensor surfaces, such as the elbows, knees, and scalp.

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • It tends to be on extensor surfaces, such as the elbows, knees, and scalp.

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • It tends to be on extensor surfaces, such as the elbows, knees, and scalp.

    Simple Skin Beauty Ellen Marmur 2009

  • Its attachment to the ungular cartilages and extensor process could prove to be a vital piece of the puzzle in the search to define proper foot function.

    Ed Ltd | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

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