tonsil
Americannoun
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.
Tonsil cancer treatments can include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2022
More recently, Lois Holland Callaway founded a recording company, whimsically named Tonsil Records; its first offering features a rock jazz group called The Gas Mask.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then there was a hard brown lozenge called the Tonsil Tickler.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
‘My father says Tonsil Ticklers were invented for dangerous prisoners in jail,’ he said.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
I'm in a mauve wool dress that I inherited from Elsbeth, which fits me well but is such a regretful color that she and I used to call it the Tonsil.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
