bile
Americannoun
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Physiology. a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, especially of fats.
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ill temper; peevishness.
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Old Physiology. either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess.
noun
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a bitter greenish to golden brown alkaline fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. It is discharged during digestion into the duodenum, where it aids the emulsification and absorption of fats
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irritability or peevishness
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archaic either of two bodily humours, one of which ( black bile ) was thought to cause melancholy and the other ( yellow bile ) anger
verb
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A bitter, alkaline, brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow fluid that is secreted by the liver, concentrated and stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum of the small intestine. It helps in the digestion of fats and the neutralization of acids, such as the hydrochloric acid secreted by the stomach. Bile consists of salts, acids, cholesterol, lipids, pigments, and water.
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◆ Bile salts help in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.
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◆ Bile pigments are waste products formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.
Discover More
Bile is sometimes used figuratively to denote bitterness in general: “His writing was full of bile.”
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bile
First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Latin bīlis; of disputed origin; compare Breton bestl, Medieval Cornish bystel, Welsh bustl
Explanation
In medicine, bile is a fluid secreted by the liver and used to help breakdown fats. Because it used to be associated with anger, feeling your bile rise is the same as feeling mounting anger. How did bile get linked to anger? Pre-modern doctors believed there were four basic substances to the human body, called humours, one of which was yellow bile that controlled anger. It doesn't, but when you feel angry, you'll still hear that you have to swallow your bile.
Vocabulary lists containing bile
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Life As We Knew It
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
So we get to witness the arguments, which unfortunately for the responsible parties—the “org” that attracts bile online and off—seem to portend the struggles to come.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
These include pathways involving bile acids, NAD-related pathways, gut bacterial metabolites, oxidative stress markers and certain steroids.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Amgen said in its quarterly earnings release in late April that the drug “demonstrates effectiveness and a favorable benefit-risk profile,” and said that vanishing bile duct syndrome hadn’t affected patients in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
These microbes are believed to play roles in processes such as acid production in the digestive system and bile acid synthesis, which may help protect against harmful bacteria and infections.
From Science Daily ● May 3, 2026
The back of her throat burned with bile.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
“Put a finger down if simone biles just ended you 🖐🏼,” Lee wrote, referring to a popular TikTok trend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
Alexander Calder's vivid mo biles were meant to jiggle and gyrate under the leaves, George Rickey's feathery kinetics to stir in the breeze.
From Time Magazine Archive
Job had pretty plenty ov biles all over him, no doubt, but they were all ov one breed.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Shaw, Henry W.
I got mo' 'ticular and pray mo' often, and in six weeks my biles had done all gone.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves South Carolina Narratives, Part 1 by Work Projects Administration
An' what they ain't a wearin', I puts in a pot an' biles.
From At Boarding School with the Tucker Twins by Speed, Nell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
