bowel
Americannoun
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bowels
plural
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Anatomy.
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Usually bowels. the intestine.
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a part of the intestine.
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bowels,
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the inward or interior parts.
the bowels of the earth.
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Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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an intestine, esp the large intestine in man
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(plural) innards; entrails
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(plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth )
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archaic (plural) the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bowel
1250–1300; Middle English b ( o ) uel < Old French < Latin botellus little sausage ( bot ( ulus ) sausage + -ellus -elle )
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:
The therapy, which brought in $17.6 billion last year, is widely prescribed for patients with autoimmune disorders like inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
She said endometriosis, which affects her bladder and bowel, left her in severe pain during shifts and frequently off sick before she received a diagnosis.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Such conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, result in gastrointestinal symptoms related to the functioning of the autonomic nervous system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Earlier data showed that 59% of patients had no detectable signs of disease after pembrolizumab treatment and their planned bowel cancer surgery.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
They talk of their B-trees and Disk Doctors and then have the nerve to complain when I discuss bowel obstructions at the dinner table.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Eventually John meets his fate by falling through a portal into an abandoned mall, then following signs directing him to a manager’s office hidden in its bowels.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
“For a program that’s been around since 2013, it was shocking that you’d come across its cancellation, effectively, in the corner of the bowels of a subpage of the internet.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
It’s making fun of yourself in a way — like some old Victorian actor in the bowels of the theater taking his makeup off and wondering what it all means.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The condition has now spread to her lungs and she is due to have lung surgery, while she is also waiting for operations on her bowels and pelvis.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
As I stumbled down the stairs, I had the disconcerting impression that I was entering the bowels of the earth.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
He lightly runs to earth the quaint Red worm and, deftly troweling, He makes it with his boweling Familiarly acquaint.
From Black Beetles in Amber by Ambrose Bierce
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
