Jawbone is the bone that forms your lower jaw, officially called the mandible. It's the largest and strongest bone in your face, shaped like a horseshoe, and it's the only skull bone that moves. Every time you chew, talk, or yawn, your jawbone is working.

Your jawbone holds your lower teeth and connects to your skull with special joints just in front of your ears. These joints let your jaw move up and down, side to side, and even forward and back, which is why you can do so many things with your mouth: bite into an apple, grind up tough food, or form words when you speak.

The jawbone is incredibly strong because it has to withstand tremendous force when you bite down. Scientists estimate that human jaws can generate over 150 pounds of force when chewing. This strength makes jawbones important fossils for archaeologists: ancient human jawbones can survive for thousands of years and tell us what early humans ate and how they lived.

The word is sometimes used informally as a verb to mean pressuring someone with persistent talking, like when a coach jawbones players to work harder. But this usage is much less common than the anatomical meaning.