jowl

Meanings

1. 1nounusually plural

   The lower part of the cheek, especially where the flesh hangs loosely near the jaw.

   Grammar: Most often plural: his jowls shook; the singular jowl is rarer.

   Patterns

   • jowls of someone

   The old judge's jowls trembled when he laughed.

   A bulldog's heavy jowls hung well below its chin.

   He shaved carefully around the folds of his jowl.

2. 2nouncountablespecialist

   The jaw or the cheek, especially of an animal, or the fatty cut of pork taken from it.

   Grammar: Countable in cooking and farming: smoked jowl.

   The cook simmered the beans with a piece of smoked hog jowl.

   The butcher trimmed the jowl before curing it.

Word forms

Common combinations

heavy jowls

The mastiff's heavy jowls dripped with water.

sagging jowls

With age came sagging jowls and a softer chin.

jowls shake

His jowls shook as he shook his head in disbelief.

cheek by jowl

The tiny shops stood cheek by jowl along the alley.

hog jowl

Hog jowl is a traditional ingredient in some southern dishes.

Synonyms and how they differ

chops

Chops is informal and humorous, often used for the cheeks of dogs, while jowl sounds more descriptive.

cheek

Cheek is the neutral word for the side of the face, but jowl suggests loose, hanging flesh.

dewlap

Dewlap refers to the fold of skin under an animal's neck rather than the cheek and jaw.

Word family

jowly adjective

having heavy, drooping jowls

jowled adjective

having jowls of a stated kind, as in heavy-jowled

jowliness noun

the state of having jowls (rare)

Commonly confused: jowl or jewel?

Practice

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