Meaning & use
frenulum
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablemedicalbiology
A small fold of tissue that holds a moving part of the body in place, such as the fold under the tongue.
Grammar: Countable with two common plurals: frenula or frenulums.
Patterns
- the frenulum of something
- a frenulum under something
The doctor checked the baby's tongue frenulum to see if it was too tight.
The lip has a frenulum that connects it to the gum.
A short frenulum can limit how far the tongue moves.
Word forms
| plural | frenula |
|---|---|
| plural (alternative) | frenulums |
Common combinations
- tongue frenulum
- The tongue frenulum was clipped during a short procedure.
- lingual frenulum
- The lingual frenulum is the fold under the tongue.
- labial frenulum
- A labial frenulum connects the lip to the gum.
- short frenulum
- A short frenulum can affect feeding in babies.
- torn frenulum
- He had a torn frenulum after the fall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- frenum
- Frenum is an older, less used variant spelling of the same word.
- fold
- A fold is a general word for any folded tissue, while frenulum names the specific band that restrains a part.
- ligament
- A ligament joins bones, whereas a frenulum is a thin mucous membrane fold.
- tether
- Tether is not an anatomical term but describes the holding effect in plain language.
Word family
- frenula noun
- plural of frenulum
- frenotomy noun
- a small cut made in a frenulum
- frenectomy noun
- surgical removal of a frenulum
- frenal adjective
- relating to a frenulum
Commonly confused: frenulum or frenzy?
frenulum vs frenzy
A frenzy is a state of wild excitement and is unrelated to the body part.
Practice
The pediatrician examined the small fold of tissue under the baby's tongue, called the ___.
Choose one answer.
The fold that holds the tongue to the floor of the mouth is the frenulum. The uvula hangs at the back of the throat and the tonsils are glands.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frenulum”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.