digestive tract

noun

: the tubular passage typically extending from the mouth to the anus or cloaca that functions in digestion and absorption of food and elimination of residual waste and that in most mammals includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and anus

called also alimentary canal, alimentary tract

Examples of digestive tract in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance, while insoluble fiber helps move waste through the digestive tract. —Morgan Pearson, Verywell Health, 22 June 2026

Better Balanced Blood Sugar The fermentation process used to make sourdough produces organic acids, such as lactic and acetic acids, which help slow the absorption of starch in the digestive tract. —Jillian Kubala, Health, 21 June 2026

Those sharp fragments can cause choking, become lodged in the digestive tract, or even puncture the stomach or intestines. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 15 June 2026

Specifically, fermentation produces lactic and acetic acids, which slow starch absorption in the digestive tract, according to Ehsani. —Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 14 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for digestive tract

• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked
• impact

Medical Definition

digestive tract

noun

: the tubular passage typically extending from mouth to anus or cloaca that functions in digestion and absorption of food and elimination of residual waste and that in most mammals includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and anus

called also alimentary canal, alimentary tract