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cerumen

American  
[si-roo-muhn] / sɪˈru mən /

noun

  1. earwax.


cerumen British  
/ sɪˈruːmɛn /

noun

  1. Nontechnical name: earwax.  the soft brownish-yellow wax secreted by glands in the auditory canal of the external ear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • ceruminous adjective

Etymology

Origin of cerumen

1735–45; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin cēr ( a ) wax + ( alb ) umen albumen

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.

Like humans, cetaceans — whales, dolphins, porpoises — produce ear wax, and in certain species, this wax, or cerumen, builds up over their lifetime.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2022

Shell's plans to explore for oil off of South Africa's eastern shore, near a region known as the Wild Coast, threatened to etch in the cerumen of so many whales a dark new chapter.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2022

In addition to affecting cerumen type, this mutation also reduces sweat production.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The growth of two fungi commonly present in otomycosis was also significantly inhibited by human cerumen.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

In the external auditory canal of the ear is produced the cerumen or ear-wax.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various