Word
lumbar
Phoneticslum·bar
US/ˈɫəmˌbɑɹ/
UK/lˈʌmbɑː/
Definitions
01lower back
adj. related to the lower part of your back.
adj. relating to the lower back or the loin, specifically the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis.
“He bought a new office chair with extra lumbar support to help his back pain.”
“The patient reported acute pain in the lumbar region, suggesting a possible issue with the lower vertebrae rather than a muscular strain.”
Technical
Usage
Usually placed before a noun like 'support', 'region', or 'vertebrae'.
Teaching tip
While this is a medical term, students will most often see it in advertisements for office chairs or car seats ('lumbar support').
Synonyms
02a bone in the lower back
n. one of the bones in the lower part of the spine.
n. a lumbar vertebra or the general lumbar region of the body.
“The doctor explained that the injury was located near the third lumbar.”
“The X-ray clearly showed a slight misalignment of the fourth lumbar, which was likely the source of the chronic discomfort.”
Technical · Informal
Usage
Often used as a shorthand in medical contexts to refer to a specific vertebra.
Teaching tip
This noun use is quite specialized; in everyday English, people almost always use 'lumbar' as an adjective.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Then we trudged through the rain to a neighboring building, where LIINC carries out lumbar punctures, tissue biopsies and other invasive procedures to collect biospecimens for study and experimentation.” Etymology
From Latin lumbāris, from lumbus (“loin”) + -āris. See loin.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lumbar