esophagus

noun

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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

Recent Examples on the Web Felt her esophagus closing, forcing into her mouth the taste of her dinner. — Suzanne Hirt, USA Today, "Her husband beat her. Caseworkers ‘pushed her to the edge.’," 17 Dec. 2020 The Beavers just lined up and ran Jefferson down the Ducks’ esophagus. — John Canzano, oregonlive, "Canzano: No fluke -- this rivalry is alive again after Oregon State’s win over Oregon," 28 Nov. 2020 The veterinary staff at the zoo performed an examination and found a large mass behind his esophagus. — Brianna Kwasnik, Arkansas Online, "Bakari, 14-year-old lion at Little Rock Zoo, dies," 3 Dec. 2020 Eight brain tumors, as well as cancer of the esophagus. — Carlos Valdez Lozano, Los Angeles Times, "His dear colleague died but had one last gift," 26 Nov. 2020 Hermann Boerhaave documented spontaneous rupture of the esophagus (a condition which became known as Boerhaave syndrome) after performing an autopsy of a Dutch Navy admiral named Baronet Wassenaer. — Maude Campbell, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of the Autopsy," 11 Nov. 2020 Sunitinib malate, marketed by Pfizer as Sutent, is prescribed for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, as well as kidney cancer and GIST, a rare cancer of the bowel, esophagus or stomach. — Elizabeth Landau, CNN, "Why pancreatic cancer is so deadly," 8 Nov. 2020 When John Szarkowski, head of MoMA’s Department of Photography, initially approached her in the early 1960s, Lange was almost seventy years old and suffering from cancer of the esophagus. — Valeria Luiselli, The New York Review of Books, "Things as They Are," 3 Nov. 2020 Later, the attacking cells were shown to come from the thymus, a small, spongy organ, then thought to be vestigial, that straddled the esophagus. — James Somers, The New Yorker, "How the Coronavirus Hacks the Immune System," 2 Nov. 2020

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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Last Updated

29 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Esophagus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/esophagus. Accessed 17 Jan. 2021.

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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

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