Test Your Vocabulary

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Name That Thing

Take our visual vocab quiz

Test Your Knowledge »

True or False?

A quick quiz about stuff worth knowing

Take It Now »

Join Us on FB & Twitter

Get the Word of the Day and More

Facebook | Twitter

cloaca

2 ENTRIES FOUND:

clo·a·ca

noun \klō-ˈā-kə\
plural clo·a·cae\-ˌkē, -ˌsē\

Definition of CLOACA

1
: 3sewer
2
[New Latin, from Latin] : the common chamber into which the intestinal and urogenital tracts discharge especially in monotreme mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and elasmobranch fishes; also : a comparable chamber of an invertebrate
3
: cesspool 2
clo·a·cal \-ˈā-kəl\ adjective

Origin of CLOACA

Latin; akin to Greek klyzein to wash — more at clyster
First Known Use: 1599

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: cloacal gland
Previous Word in the Dictionary: clo
All Words Near: cloaca

Seen & Heard

What made you want to look up cloaca? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).