Esophagus Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Cultural

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms esophagus American [ih-sof-uh-guhs, ee-sof-] / ɪˈsɒf ə gəs, iˈsɒf- /

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

plural

esophagi

1. a muscular passage connecting the mouth or pharynx with the stomach in invertebrate and vertebrate animals; gullet.

esophagus British / iːˈsɒfəɡəs, iːˌsɒfəˈdʒiːəl /

noun

1. the US spelling of oesophagus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 esophagus Scientific / ĭ-sŏf′ə-gəs /

plural

esophagi

1. The muscular tube in vertebrates through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach.

esophagus Cultural

1. The muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach and serves as a passageway for food. (See digestive system.)

Other Word Forms

• esophageal adjective

Etymology

Origin of esophagus

1350–1400; < New Latin oesophagus < Greek oisophágos gullet, literally, channel for eating ( oiso-, akin to oísein, future infinitive of phérein to carry + -phagos eating); replacing Middle English ysophagus < Medieval Latin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It was probably stuck to every part of my esophagus.

From Literature

Or she operates the machine as the doctor guides a probe down the esophagus.

From The Wall Street Journal

Not long after, she went through more procedures: one to amputate her damaged limb and another to cut through her neck to retrieve a fishing hook that had migrated to tissue outside the esophagus.

From Los Angeles Times

Esophageal dysmotility —disorders that affect the esophagus’ ability to move food and liquid to a person’s stomach — also contributed to Ladd’s death, People reported.

From Los Angeles Times

NRF2 overactivity plays a major role in chemotherapy resistance in several solid tumors, including cancers of the liver, esophagus and head and neck.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• larynx

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.