Meanings
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1
noun
the loose flesh of the lower cheek or jaw, especially when it hangs with age
The old hound's left jowl sagged below its mouth.
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2
noun
the cheek or side of the face, especially in the phrase cheek by jowl, meaning very close together
The tiny tables stood cheek by jowl along the crowded wall.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English cholle, 'jowl or wattle,' related to Old English ceole, 'throat.' The inherited anatomical word survives especially for loose flesh along the lower cheek and in the fixed expression cheek by jowl, literally with one person's cheek beside another's.