bile

American  

[bahyl] / baɪl /

noun

1. Physiology.  a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, especially of fats.

2. ill temper; peevishness.

3. Old Physiology.  either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess.

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bile ¹ British  

/ baɪl /

noun

1. 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

2. irritability or peevishness

3. archaic  either of two bodily humours, one of which ( black bile ) was thought to cause melancholy and the other ( yellow bile ) anger

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bile ² British  

/ bəɪl /

verb

1. a Scot word for boil 1

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bile Scientific  

/ bīl /

1. 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.

2. ◆ Bile salts help in the emulsification, digestion, and absorption of fats.

3. ◆ Bile pigments are waste products formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin from old red blood cells.

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bile Cultural  

1. A bitter fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bile is discharged into the small intestine when needed to aid in the digestion of fats (see digestive system).

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Discover More

Bile is sometimes used figuratively to denote bitterness in general: “His writing was full of bile.”

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

Example Sentences

Using both mouse models and human tumor samples, they discovered that certain bile acids -- molecules produced by the liver to aid digestion -- can interfere with cancer-fighting immune cells known as T cells.

From Science Daily

Sarwar said it was a good preview of what might happen in next May's Holyrood election, demonstrating both "the gutter politics and bile of Reform" and the "cheap and cynical politics of the SNP".

From BBC

Not the fact that the president of the United States used a eulogy to divide a fractured nation even further by spewing bile.

From Salon

In 2020, his son, David, died in his fifties from complications of bile duct cancer.

From BBC

Meghan is a wealthy American woman living a royal dream, if you ignore the geyser of British tabloid bile constantly burbling in the background of her life.

From Salon

Related Words

• acrimony
• animosity
• animus
• antagonism
• bad blood
• bitterness
• enmity
• grudge
• harshness
• hatred
• hostility
• ill will
• malice
• resentment
• venom