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:
In June, she had surgery, which included a hysterectomy and a full bowel shave to try to remove endometriosis tissue which attached her womb to her bowel.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mageean, from Portaferry in County Down, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in May 2025.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The latest study now establishes the importance of this mechanism in a larger group of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Together, these findings suggest that the immune system undergoes measurable changes many years before inflammatory bowel disease is diagnosed.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
“From now on,” he said, his face utterly serious, “I want a full report on all of your bowel movements.”
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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
Not all donations make it to the bookcases but instead are kept in storage in the bowels of Downing Street.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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
Between my sobs and his sighs, the other servers tucked past, wondering what was happening but not really wanting to deal with the crazy person watching their co-worker badger-dig into the bowels of this cabinet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The smell of breakfast soon rose from the German boy’s bowels.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
