1
a
: the muscular enlargement of the digestive tract of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for grinding the food and when the crop is present follows it and the proventriculus
b
: a thickened part of the digestive tract in some animals (such as an insect or an earthworm) that is similar in function to the crop of a bird
2
: innards
Examples of gizzard in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sage grouse lack a muscular gizzard capable of grinding seeds, so their only use of agricultural fields is to feed on alfalfa.
—
Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 11 Jan. 2024
Channel cats can be caught on simple baits like white bread, cheese, or chicken gizzards, but as a rule of thumb, the smellier the bait the better.
—Outdoor Life, 30 Nov. 2023
End of carousel In terms of flavor, the neck, gizzard and heart mostly just taste like poultry dark meat.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
There’s also a thick piece of skin inside the gizzard.
—Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 22 Nov. 2023
Technically, giblets are defined as the gizzard (the mechanical stomach of a bird), heart and liver of poultry.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
Remove the neck, heart and gizzards from inside turkey; discard or save for another purpose.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
Once at an underwater food source, divers will hunt about until finding a suspect, snatch it up in their strong bill, and rise to the surface, where it’s swallowed whole to be crushed by the bird’s powerful gizzard.
—M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 2 Nov. 2023
In Puerto Rico, green bananas and chicken gizzards are made into an escabeche with onions, allspice and sofrito.
—G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 11 Jan. 2024
Channel cats can be caught on simple baits like white bread, cheese, or chicken gizzards, but as a rule of thumb, the smellier the bait the better.
—Outdoor Life, 30 Nov. 2023
End of carousel In terms of flavor, the neck, gizzard and heart mostly just taste like poultry dark meat.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
There’s also a thick piece of skin inside the gizzard.
—Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 22 Nov. 2023
Technically, giblets are defined as the gizzard (the mechanical stomach of a bird), heart and liver of poultry.
—Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
Remove the neck, heart and gizzards from inside turkey; discard or save for another purpose.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 13 Nov. 2023
Once at an underwater food source, divers will hunt about until finding a suspect, snatch it up in their strong bill, and rise to the surface, where it’s swallowed whole to be crushed by the bird’s powerful gizzard.
—M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 2 Nov. 2023
In Puerto Rico, green bananas and chicken gizzards are made into an escabeche with onions, allspice and sofrito.
—G. Daniela Galarza, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gizzard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near gizzard
Cite this Entry
“Gizzard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gizzard. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gizzard
noun
giz·zard
ˈgiz-ərd 
: a large muscular part of the digestive tube (as of a bird or insect) which has a horny lining and in which food is churned and ground into small pieces
Medical Definition
gizzard
noun
giz·zard
ˈgiz-ərd
: the muscular enlargement of the digestive tract of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for churning and grinding the food
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