The word glenoid is pronounced /ˈɡliːnɔɪd/ or /ˈɡlɛnɔɪd/ (both are common) and is from Greek: gléne, "socket", reflecting the shoulder joint's ball-and-socket form.

It is directed laterally and forward and articulates with the head of the humerus; it is broader below than above and its vertical diameter is the longest.

The humerus is held in place within the glenoid cavity by means of the long head of the biceps tendon.

The rotator cuff also reinforces this joint more specifically with the supraspinatus tendon to hold the head of the humerus in the glenoid cavity.

[3] In dinosaurs the main bones of the pectoral girdle were the scapula (shoulder blade) and the coracoid, both of which directly articulated with the clavicle.