bowel
Americannoun
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bowels
plural
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Anatomy.
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Usually bowels. the intestine.
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a part of the intestine.
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bowels,
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the inward or interior parts.
the bowels of the earth.
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Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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an intestine, esp the large intestine in man
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(plural) innards; entrails
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(plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth )
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archaic (plural) the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bowel
1250–1300; Middle English b ( o ) uel < Old French < Latin botellus little sausage ( bot ( ulus ) sausage + -ellus -elle )
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:
“He explained practical things like colon cancer and bowel movements,” Winfrey told Emmy Magazine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Ioan, who broke both arms, and suffered a fractured rib and perforated bowel, said he wished his dad was still here to "watch me grow up and be my dad".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Some people may also feel as though the bowel has not emptied completely.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
The reports followed growing concerns among customers over the illness, which the CDC said can cause “sometimes explosive bowel movements.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
They talk of their B-trees and Disk Doctors and then have the nerve to complain when I discuss bowel obstructions at the dinner table.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Between my sobs and his sighs, the other servers tucked past, wondering what was happening but not really wanting to deal with the crazy person watching their co-worker badger-dig into the bowels of this cabinet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
NEW YORK—More than a million fans will visit New York City this month for the World Cup, and many of them will squeeze through the decaying bowels of Pennsylvania Station while they’re here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
By the time he had a video examination of his bowels – called a colonoscopy – the cancer was so large it blocked the camera from getting in.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Somewhere in the bowels of my music collection hides 1985’s George Clinton-produced “Freaky Styley” and 1987’s “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan” on crumbling cassettes.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026
I rounded a corner and blew through a side door into a dark labyrinth that led into the bowels of the mall.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
He lightly runs to earth the quaint Red worm and, deftly troweling, He makes it with his boweling Familiarly acquaint.
From Black Beetles in Amber by Ambrose Bierce
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.
