alveolus
Americannoun
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a little cavity, pit, or cell, as a cell of a honeycomb.
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an air cell of the lungs, formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways.
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one of the terminal secretory units of a racemose gland.
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the socket within the jawbone in which the root or roots of a tooth are set.
noun
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any small pit, cavity, or saclike dilation, such as a honeycomb cell
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any of the sockets in which the roots of the teeth are embedded
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any of the tiny air sacs in the lungs at the end of the bronchioles, through which oxygen is taken into the blood
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Any of the tiny air-filled sacs arranged in clusters in the lungs, in which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place.
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Also called air sac
Etymology
Origin of alveolus
1700–10; < Latin, equivalent to alve ( us ) concave vessel + -olus -ole 1
Vocabulary lists containing alveolus
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.
In one example, six nests were stacked within a single alveolus, arranged one inside another like Russian dolls.
From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026
The diagram shows a red blood cell in an alveolus and then in a body tissue.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
A focus-stacked picture of a tiny, 3D-printed alveolus, or artificial lung.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 16, 2019
The exact function of the alveolus is unknown, but it may be involved in osmoregulation.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
The inflammation begins close to the alveolus, and may spread back along the palate.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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.
