digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the ingestion, digestion, and absorption of food and the discharge of residual wastes and consisting of the digestive tract and accessory glands (such as the salivary glands and the pancreas) that secrete digestive enzymes

Examples of digestive system in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jay just gets bumped from one squishy chamber of viscous lumps to another, fighting like hell to avoid following his squid adversary through a puckering hole and deeper into the digestive system, where the air turns into methane. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

One was a zinc protease used in a crayfish’s digestive system. — ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

The lungs process substances differently from the digestive system, and the health effects of chronic inhalation of propylene glycol through e-cigarette aerosol remain incompletely understood. — Emma Fenske, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026

BioLife is developing an effervescent oral technology designed to help peptides absorb through the digestive system. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for digestive system

• cryptosystem
• ecosystem
• intersystem
• multisystem
• photosystem
• subsystem

Kids Definition

digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the intake, breakdown, and absorption of food and the discharge of wastes and that includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, anus, and glands (as the salivary glands)

Medical Definition

digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the ingestion, digestion, and absorption of food and the discharge of residual wastes and consisting of the digestive tract and accessory glands (such as the salivary glands and the pancreas) that secrete digestive enzymes

called also alimentary system