floating rib

noun Anatomy.

one member of the two lowest pairs of ribs, which are attached neither to the sternum nor to the cartilages of other ribs.

Origin of floating rib

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby floating rib

floating island, floating kidney, floating partition, floating point, floating policy, floating rib, floating screed, floating spleen, floating stock, floating supply, floating vote

British Dictionary definitions for floating rib

floating rib

noun

any rib of the lower two pairs of ribs in man, which are not attached to the breastbone

Medical definitions for floating rib

floating rib

n.

Any of the two lowest pairs of ribs with no anterior attachment to the sternum. vertebral rib