bowel

[ bou-uh l, boul ]

/ ˈbaʊ əl, baʊl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bowel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Anatomy.

Usually bowels. the intestine.
a part of the intestine.

bowels,

the inward or interior parts: the bowels of the earth.
Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.

verb (used with object), bow·eled, bow·el·ing or (especially British) bow·elled, bow·el·ling.

to disembowel.

Nearby words

bowditch's law, bowditch, nathaniel, bowdlerize, bowdlerizing, bowed, bowel, bowel bypass, bowel bypass syndrome, bowel movement, bowell, bowell, sir mackenzie

Origin of bowel

1250–1300; Middle English b(o)uel < Old French < Latin botellus little sausage (bot(ulus) sausage + -ellus -elle)

Related forms

bow·el·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bowels

The last body finally was recovered from the bowels of the ship in October.
The Costa Concordia’s Randy Reckless Captain Takes the Stand|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The one woman since Rivers to find success in late-night, Chelsea Handler on the bowels of cable on the E!
Joan Rivers's Trailblazing, Troubled, and Complicated Role in Late-Night TV|Kevin Fallon|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In my dreams he was a sensual man who also had a hard time moving his bowels.
Making Lincoln Sexy: Jerome Charyn’s Fictional President|Tom LeClair|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The bacteria in the bowels of livestock are influenced by the antibiotics gobbled up.
Is Your Bacon on Drugs?|Kent Sepkowitz|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I felt I had to tread carefully because the man, were he alive, would not appreciate a discussion of his bowels.
How to Think With Your Gut|Mindy Farabee|April 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Her bowels moved infrequently and she always needed laxatives.
The Nervous Housewife|Abraham Myerson
It is most frequently caused, however, in childhood by some disturbance in the stomach or bowels.
The Eugenic Marriage, Volume IV. (of IV.)|Grant Hague
Cancer of the liver in some instances does, and in others does not, produce dropsy of the bowels.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
I had been in this hell-on-earth for fifteen days without any secretion from the bowels.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
It possesses the advantage of exercising but little irritant effect upon the bowels.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6|Various

British Dictionary definitions for bowels

bowel

/ (ˈbaʊəl) /

noun

an intestine, esp the large intestine in man

(plural) innards; entrails

(plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth)

(plural) archaic the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy

Word Origin for bowel

C13: from Old French bouel, from Latin botellus a little sausage, from botulus sausage

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