alimentary canal

noun

variants or less commonly alimentary tract

Examples of alimentary canal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Beginning in the 1980s, L.A. artist Mike Kelley began developing a robust, often funny body of work based on metaphors of a human body’s alimentary canal — the path from the esophagus through the intestines where food goes in one end, nutrients get extracted and waste comes out the other end. Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2022 The gastrointestinal tract, commonly referred to as the gut, consists of a series of hollow organs that allow food to travel from the mouth to the alimentary canal. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2023 Technically speaking, the human body is a donut, and the alimentary canal—leading from our mouths all the way down to our anuses —is the hole in the center. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 7 Apr. 2022 These then get snared in their alimentary canals, cannot be broken down by the animals’ digestive enzymes and may ultimately kill them. The Economist, 12 Mar. 2020 The webbed contraption looks something like an unraveled alimentary canal — esophagus, stomach and intestines. Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2019 One way this happens is that the seeds of many species are just the right size and shape to endure passage through the alimentary canals of the animals that swallow them. The Economist, 26 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alimentary canal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of alimentary canal was in 1730

Dictionary Entries Near alimentary canal

Cite this Entry

“Alimentary canal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alimentary%20canal. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

alimentary canal

noun
: a long tube made up of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine into which food is taken and digested and from which wastes are passed out

Medical Definition

alimentary canal

noun
variants or alimentary tract

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