Definition of JOWL

jowl

Plural: jowls

Noun

  • The fleshy hanging part under the lower jaw.
  • the jaw in vertebrates that is hinged to open the mouth
  • a fullness and looseness of the flesh of the lower cheek and jaw (characteristic of aging)
  • The jaw, jawbone; especially one of the lateral parts of the mandible.
  • A fold of fatty flesh under the chin, around the cheeks, or lower jaw (as a dewlap, wattle, crop, or double chin).
  • The cheek; especially the cheek meat of a hog.
  • A cut of fish including the head and adjacent parts
  • A blow, bump, knock.
  • The tolling of a bell; knell.

Verb

  • To throw, dash, or knock.
  • To knock, bump, strike against; hit, strike; peck at.
  • To jolt or shake roughly; shake up, mix together.
  • To rumble.
  • To toll, knell.

Examples

  • The intense Scrabble player’s JOWL twitched as he considered his crucial play.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English jawle, chawl, chavel (“jaw, jawbone”), from Old English ċeafl (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-West Germanic *kafl (“jaw, cheek”). The modern form (for expected chavel, chawl; still found dialectally) is influenced by jaw, which it is a partial doublet of.

Synonyms

jawbone, lower jaw, lower jawbone, mandible, mandibula, mandibular bone, submaxilla

Scrabble Score: 14

jowl: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
jowl: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
jowl: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 17

jowl: valid Words With Friends Word