small intestine

noun

: the narrow part of the intestine that lies between the stomach and colon, consists of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, secretes digestive enzymes, and is the chief site of the digestion of food into small molecules which are absorbed into the body

Examples of small intestine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After taking magnesium, your small intestine absorbs it within about an hour.1 Your body absorbs about 80% of magnesium after six hours.1 Your body tightly regulates magnesium levels through your intestines, bones, and kidneys.2 Your bones and tissues are primary storage sites. —Trang Tran, Verywell Health, 10 June 2025

The digestive perks spring mainly from how this starch moves through your small intestine relatively unscathed. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 29 May 2025

The procedure food goes through the pouch and directly into the latter portion of the small intestine. —Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 27 Mar. 2025

The researchers applied worm larvae in patches on the subjects’ arms; after passing through the skin, the worms would travel through the blood stream, to the lungs and then to the small intestine. —Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for small intestine

• clandestine
• progestin

Kids Definition

small intestine

noun

: the long narrow part of the intestine between the stomach and the colon in which food is mostly digested, from which digested food is absorbed into the body, and which consists of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum

Medical Definition

small intestine

noun

: the part of the intestine that lies between the stomach and colon, consists of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, secretes digestive enzymes, and is the chief site of the absorption of digested nutrients

called also small bowel