phalange

/fəˈlændʒ/
noun
  1. A bone in a finger or toe.
    • He stubbed his toe so hard that he fractured a phalange.
    • Each finger has three phalanges, except the thumb which has two.
    • The doctor examined the broken phalange in her index finger.
  2. A group of people united for a common purpose, especially in politics or military.
    • The political phalange gathered to plan their campaign strategy.
    • The ancient Greek phalanx was a tight phalange of soldiers with long spears.
    • A small phalange of volunteers organized the community cleanup.