Definition of organ
1a archaic : any of various musical instruments; especially : wind instrumentb (1) : a keyboard instrument in which sets of pipes are sounded by compressed air and produce a variety of timbres —called also pipe organ (2) : reed organ (3) : an electronic keyboard instrument that approximates the sounds and resources of the pipe organ (4) : any of various similar cruder instruments
2a : a differentiated structure (such as a heart, kidney, leaf, or stem) consisting of cells and tissues and performing some specific function in an organismb : bodily parts performing a function or cooperating in an activity the eyes and related structures that make up the visual organs
3 : a subordinate group or organization that performs specialized functions the various organs of government
4 : periodical
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Examples of organ in a Sentence
the legislative organ of our government
that newspaper is intended as an organ for the whole university community
Recent Examples of organ from the Web
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The most painful places to get tattoos are over bones and major organs, says Sue.
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The organ looked oversized, but an ultrasound won’t delineate specific masses.
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Heterotaxy syndrome is when a person is born with internal organs that are malformed, misplaced, multiplied, and/or missing.
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Rich and beautiful people don’t just go to nicer places, their organs work better.
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Only recently have researchers and physicians discovered that the clitoris isn't a tiny little dot near the vagina, but an entire organ of its own tucked away into the body.
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Libertarian organs like Reason regularly churn out polemics and studies designed to show that libertarianism is a huge new trend and the wave of the future.
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Crocodylians evolved scattered multi-sensory micro-organs.
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Crocodylians provide an obvious analogy here, their sensitive facial receptors (the integumentary sense organs – or ISOs – in particular) being involved in the face-stroking and nuzzling that occurs during courtship.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'organ.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of organ
Middle English, partly from Old English organa, from Latin organum, from Greek organon, literally, tool, instrument; partly from Anglo-French organe, from Latin organum; akin to Greek ergon work — more at work
organ-
organo-
Definition of organ-
1 : organ organogenesis
2 : organic organomercurial
Origin and Etymology of organ-
Greek organon
ORGAN Defined for English Language Learners
organ
playDefinition of organ for English Language Learners
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: a part of the body (such as the heart or liver) that has a particular function
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—used as a polite way of saying penis
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: a musical instrument that has a keyboard and pipes of different lengths and that makes sound by pushing air through the pipes
ORGAN Defined for Kids
organ
playDefinition of organ for Students
1 : a musical instrument played by means of one or more keyboards and having pipes sounded by compressed air
2 : a part of a person, plant, or animal that is specialized to perform a particular function The eye is an organ of sight.
3 : a way of getting something done Courts are organs of government.
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about organ
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See words that rhyme with organ Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for organ Spanish Central: Translation of organ Nglish: Translation of organ for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of organ for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about organ
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