large intestine

noun

: the more terminal division of the vertebrate intestine that is wider and shorter than the small intestine, typically divided into cecum, colon, and rectum, and concerned especially with the resorption of water and the formation of feces

Examples of large intestine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Appendiceal cancer is a rare form of cancer that affects the appendix, a thin pouch attached to the large intestine. —USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024

According to the Mayo Clinic, ileus is another way to describe intestinal obstructions, blockages that can keep food from continuing on its path through the small and large intestine. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2023

In reality, most food calories have long since been absorbed by your small intestine by the time laxatives take effect on your large intestine. —USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024

The microbiome, of course, is the collection of microorganisms that live throughout the human body, primarily in the small and large intestines. —Michal Lev-Ram, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2023

Physical activity helps food move through the large intestine quickly. —Steph Coelho, Health, 10 Feb. 2024

In the Europe study, no participants experienced a perforation, or tear in the large intestine. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 21 Jan. 2024

In the section of the gut where the large intestine connects to the small intestine, the walls were thickened and so swollen that the passage was completely closed off for four or five inches. —Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 10 Jan. 2024

In those with lactose intolerance, the undisturbed lactose makes its way into the large intestine, where a motley assortment of gut microbes makes eager work of it. —Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1742, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

large intestine

noun

: the last part of the intestine which is wider and shorter than the small intestine, which consists of the cecum, colon, and rectum, and which absorbs water from the material left over from digestion and prepares the feces for release from the body

Medical Definition

large intestine

noun

: the more terminal division of the vertebrate intestine that is wider and shorter than the small intestine, typically divided into cecum, colon, and rectum, and concerned especially with the resorption of water and the formation of feces