tonsil
Americannoun
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tonsils
plural
noun
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Also called: palatine tonsil. either of two small masses of lymphatic tissue situated one on each side of the back of the mouth
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anatomy any small rounded mass of tissue, esp lymphatic tissue
Usage
What are tonsil stones? Tonsil stones are small yellow or white lumps embedded in the tonsils. They result from bacterial or fungal build-up that forms into a nasty-smelling—but generally—harmless mass. How do you pronounce tonsil stones?[ ton-suh l stohnz ]
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tonsil
First recorded in 1595–1605, tonsil is from the Latin word tōnsillae (plural) the tonsils
Vocabulary lists containing tonsil
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Middle 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:
These included some types of limb surgery, kidney stone pain, pain following tonsil removal, and pain experienced by newborns using assisted breathing devices.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 9, 2026
In talking about what took the album so long, Ness doesn’t even get to his experience with tonsil cancer, which required surgery in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Arthurs previously recovered from tonsil cancer in 2022.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Still, his March diagnosis of tonsil cancer was surprising.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
When the operation was half over, he had come out into the ante-room, grinning and waving one tonsil in a pair of forceps.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Sometimes it’s a decision that is complicated and scary, like surgery for those big tonsils or scoliotic spine.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
Doctors this year removed a small tumor in one of his tonsils.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Immune cells in our tonsils, lymph nodes, and spleen show fragments of pathogen molecules known as antigens to one another, sparking a counterattack against invaders.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 31, 2023
The research by scientists Dr Anu Goenka, Dr Alice Halliday and Dr Darryl Hill will involve growing cells from tonsils of patients who have had them removed during surgery.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2023
Other-Finn’s mouth was open so wide Emma could see his tonsils; Other-Emma shoved Chess away while Rocky yanked back on his handcuffs.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
