bowel

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noun bow·el \ ˈbau̇(-ə)l \

Definition of bowel

1 biology :intestine, gut; also :one of the divisions of the intestines —usually used in plural except in medical use

the large bowel

move your bowels

2 archaic :the seat of pity, tenderness, or courage —usually used in plural

3 bowels plural :the interior parts; especially :the deep or remote parts

bowels of the earth

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bowelless

play \ˈbau̇(-ə)l-ləs\ adjective

See bowel defined for English-language learners

See bowel defined for kids

Examples of bowel in a Sentence

a disease of the bowel
They dug deep into the bowels of the earth.
The engine room is down in the bowels of the ship.

Recent Examples of bowel from the Web

Researchers have found writing can reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, speed healing of wounds and improve the chances of quick re-employment after being laid off.

— natalie jacewicz, Kaiser Health News, "Writing Your Way Through Cancer," 25 Aug. 2017
One cup, raw and cubed, should get your bowels back on track.

— helen zook, Cosmopolitan, "12 Easy Food Fixes for Every Health Issue," 13 Aug. 2017
In their time at the zoo, Sadie and Rocko have both been underweight with low muscle mass, and Sadie has struggled with irritable bowel disease.

— bailey loosemore, The Courier-Journal, "Rudy Green's Doggy Cuisine an all-natural option for your dog produced in Kentucky," 1 Aug. 2017
But asking Donald Trump to give a speech without insulting Hillary Clinton, the media, or Barack Obama is like feeding table scraps to a dog with irritable bowel syndrome and expecting nothing unseemly to occur.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Boy Scouts Apologize for the President’s Conduct at Their Jamboree," 27 July 2017
High fiber diets can also benefit our gastrointestinal health by improving bowel habits, improving hemorrhoidal disease, and by preventing diverticular disease.

— trihealth, Cincinnati.com, "Why health experts emphasize fiber," 17 July 2017
Scientists have found intriguing differences between the bacteria that inhabit the guts of healthy people and the microbiomes of those with chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and Type 2 diabetes.

— roni caryn rabin, New York Times, "Can I Test the Health of My Gut Microbiota?," 7 July 2017
Furthermore, anxiety is often overlooked as the source of disorders like substance abuse or addiction, or as a contributing factor to symptoms in conditions like migraine headache or irritable bowel syndrome.

— jane e. brody, idahostatesman, "When anxiety masks a medical problem," 2 July 2017
Researchers are reportedly looking into whether poop transplants can help with everything from irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, and HIV.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Florida Clinic Uses Poop Transplants For Health," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bowel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.