esophagus

noun

esoph·a·gus | \ i-ˈsä-fə-gəs

plural esophagi\ i-ˈsä-fə-ˌgī ,

-ˌjī \

Definition of esophagus

: a muscular tube that conveys food from the mouth to the stomach and that in humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach

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Examples of esophagus in a Sentence

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This sounds vague, but Dr. Baggish points out that many organs in the chest, like the heart, lungs, and esophagus share the same nerve supply. — Cassie Shortsleeve, SELF, "Is Your Chest Pain Physical or Mental?," 14 Nov. 2018 Surgeons are also developing new procedures to treat conditions infants are born with, such as an esophagus or intestines that don’t work properly. — Laura Landro, WSJ, "The New, Improved World of Infant Care," 16 Sep. 2018 Alcohol is associated with cancers of the mouth and throat, larynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver and breast, according to the CDC. — Joel Achenbach, The Seattle Times, "A huge clinical trial collapses, and research on alcohol remains befuddling," 6 Aug. 2018 Alcohol use, even at low levels, is linked to a number of cancers, including breast, colorectal, liver and esophagus. — Christina Mair, Philly.com, "Alcohol kills many more Americans than opioids do. Why do we think drinking is healthy?," 9 July 2018 These data have unveiled a hidden world of somatic mutation and clonal competition in normal esophagus. — Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, "Healthy tissues in older people carry a lot of cancer-promoting mutations," 26 Oct. 2018 But when a button battery gets stuck, the battery acid can eat through the wall of the esophagus, causing lifelong disability. — Amanda Macmillan, Health.com, "A Button Battery Burned a Hole in a Toddler's Esophagus, and His Parents Are Sharing Their Scary Story," 10 May 2018 Zenker’s diverticulum is a pouch that forms where the pharynx, or voicebox, meets the esophagus. — Sandra G. Boodman, Washington Post, "She’d lost a lot of weight and had trouble swallowing. Was she dying?," 17 Mar. 2018 Research has also linked garlic intake to a lower risk of stomach, colon and esophagus cancers. — Alexandra Sifferlin, Time, "11 Best Foods For Your Immune System," 19 June 2018

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

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22 Dec 2018

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The first known use of esophagus was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for esophagus

esophagus

noun

English Language Learners Definition of esophagus

medical : the tube that leads from the mouth through the throat to the stomach

See the full definition for esophagus in the English Language Learners Dictionary

esophagus

noun

esoph·a·gus | \ i-ˈsä-fə-gəs

plural esophagi\ -ˌgī, -ˌjī \

Kids Definition of esophagus

: a muscular tube that leads from the mouth through the throat to the stomach

esophagus

noun

esoph·a·gus

variants: or chiefly British oesophagus \ i-ˈsäf-ə-gəs

plural esophagi\ -ˌgī ,

-ˌjī

Medical Definition of esophagus

: a muscular tube that in adult humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach