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 new STRIDE-RCT trial, external is about detecting bowel, small bowel, stomach, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver, bile duct and gallbladder, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, bladder and prostate cancer.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
The former European champion and two-time Olympic runner died on Sunday after she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
The research marks an important advance toward personalized treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Scientists at Oxford first connected this genetic variant to a severe form of inflammatory bowel disease 30 years ago.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Warm water often caused Clare to have a bowel movement, yet no matter how gross the water, Mandy and I would still have to get in it later.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
“We’re in the bowels of industrial manufacturing,” Steve said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
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
He faced the public and gave a single wave of his hands, before disappearing into the bowels of the courthouse in the custody of US Marshalls.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Before he even had time to yell, he dropped like a rock into the Cimmerian bowels of the glacier.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
