lung

noun

ˈləŋ 

1

a

: one of the usually paired compound saccular thoracic organs that constitute the basic respiratory organs of an air-breathing vertebrate

b

: any of various respiratory organs of invertebrates

2

a

: a device enabling individuals abandoning a submarine to rise to the surface

b

: a mechanical device for regularly introducing fresh air into and withdrawing stale air from the lung : respirator compare iron lung

lungful

ˈləŋ-ˌfu̇l 

noun

Examples of lung in a Sentence

He filled his lungs with the clean. fresh air.

Recent Examples on the Web

Smoked or vaped marijuana enters the lungs and is absorbed into the bloodstream, according to cannabis education site Leafly, while edibles are processed in the stomach and liver. —Sarah Linn, Sacramento Bee, 20 Apr. 2024

His death, at Maine Medical Center, was caused by complications of interstitial lung disease, his wife, Susan Bell Dennett, said. —Jonathan Kandell, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024

Former boat captain John Maas received $110,000 from BP for his lung ailments in 2022, according to a confidential copy of the settlement. —Travis Loller, Fortune Europe, 19 Apr. 2024

In the first group, patients took the drug without a positive airway pressure (PAP) machine to pump air into their lungs. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024

Goldman, 25, had stab wounds to his throat, lungs and abdomen. —Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024

My favorite was a male patient in his 60s who had been a smoker most of his life and was dying of lung cancer. —Phoebe Zerwick, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024

The median age for lung cancer, for example, is 59 in India, but 70 in the U.S., 68 in China, and 75 in the U.K., according to the new report. —Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024

An attorney for two people who died of a rare lung cancer argued on Monday for a jury to hold BNSF Railway responsible for pollution in a small Montana town near the U.S.-Canada border where thousands of people were exposed to toxic asbestos dust. —Amy Beth Hanson, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English lunge, from Old English lungen; akin to Old High German lungun lung, līhti light in weight — more at light

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing lung

• black lung
• book lung
• brown lung
• farmer's lung
• heart-lung machine
• iron lung
• small-cell lung cancer

Kids Definition

lung

noun

ˈləŋ 

1

a

: one of the usually paired organs forming the special breathing structure of vertebrates that breathe air

b

: any of various respiratory organs of invertebrates

2

: a device (as an iron lung) to promote breathing and make it easier

Medical Definition

lung

noun

ˈləŋ 

1

a

: one of the usually two compound saccular organs that constitute the basic respiratory organ of air-breathing vertebrates, that normally occupy the entire lateral parts of the thorax and consist essentially of an inverted tree of intricately branched bronchioles communicating with thin-walled terminal alveoli swathed in a network of delicate capillaries where the actual gaseous exchange of respiration takes place, and that in humans are somewhat flattened with a broad base resting against the diaphragm and have the right lung divided into three lobes and the left into two lobes

b

: any of various respiratory organs of invertebrates

2

: a mechanical device for regularly introducing fresh air into and withdrawing stale air from the lungs : respirator see iron lung

lunged adjective