Definition

1. Noun:
   • The lower part of a person's or animal's cheek, especially when it is fleshy or drooping: Refers specifically to the area of flesh below the ear and alongside the lower jaw.
   • The jaw or jawbone, especially the lower jaw: In anatomy, it can denote the jaw structure itself.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Fleshy part of the cheek):

  • The old hound had heavy jowls that shook when it barked.
  • Weight loss made the loose skin on his jowls more apparent.

• Noun (Jaw or jawbone):

  • The fossil included a well-preserved dinosaur jowl.
  • He felt a pain in his jowl when he tried to chew.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• The term often carries connotations of age, heaviness, or sagging when referring to the fleshy part of the cheek.
• In butchery or zoology, "jowl" can refer to the corresponding cut of meat or anatomical part, such as pork jowl.

Variants and Related Words

• Jowly (adjective): Having prominent or heavy jowls.
  • He had a kind, jowly face.

Synonyms

• Cheek (specifically for the fleshy area, though "cheek" is more general).
• Jaw (specifically for the bony structure).
• Mandible (technical term for the lower jawbone).

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• Cheek by jowl: In very close proximity; side by side.
  • In the crowded market, people lived cheek by jowl.
  • The two rival shops stood cheek by jowl on the same street.

Noun

1. a fullness and looseness of the flesh of the lower cheek and jaw (characteristic of aging)
2. the jaw in vertebrates that is hinged to open the mouth