clitoris
Americannoun
-
the erectile organ of the vulva, used exclusively for sexual arousal and stimulation: located inside of the vulva except for the protruding glans.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clitoris
First recorded in 1605–15; from Greek kleitorís, akin to kleíein “to shut”
Explanation
The clitoris is a female sexual organ. A certain type of embryonic tissue develops either into a penis, in male babies, or a clitoris, in female babies. Like the penis, the clitoris has many sensitive nerve endings. It is located at the anterior end of the vulva.
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:
In the womb, they will develop a male anatomy until the final stage of growing a penis - and when they are not able to, then they’ll start developing a vulva and a clitoris.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
The majority of birds lack a penis or a clitoris.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 16, 2023
There have been documented injuries to the clitoris in procedures including pelvic mesh surgeries, episiotomies during childbirth and even hip surgeries.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
Do you feel uncomfortable saying the word clitoris?
From The Guardian ● Oct. 8, 2019
The external sex organs of the female are: the vulva, hymen, and clitoris.
From Woman Her Sex and Love Life by Robinson, William J.
It also helps surgeons to spare crucial nerves during pelvic surgery, improve gender-affirmation procedures and repair the clitorises of women who have undergone female genital mutilation.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 4, 2020
Sometimes I’ll say things like, “Yes dear, some people have clitorises and other people have penises, like Daddy.”
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2018
For instance, female spotted hyenas have enlarged clitorises called pseudo-phalluses—which look just like penises but are actually larger.
From National Geographic ● Apr. 18, 2016
Women with a disorder called congenital adrenal hyperplasia can have ambiguous genitalia, including enlarged clitorises that may look like small penises.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2012
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.
