Meanings
plural pectoralis majors · plural pectorales majores
- anatomyThe large muscle that covers the chest and ribs.
With the pectoralis major cut off, the shoulders caved inward as if in a perpetual shrug, making it impossible to move the arm forward or sideways.
2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 65Synonyms: pec
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe large muscle that covers the chest and ribs.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna skeletal muscle that adducts and rotates the arm
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
pectoralis major. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pectoralis%20major
“pectoralis major.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pectoralis%20major. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pectoralis major,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pectoralis%20major.
Source: pectoralis major on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.