clitoris
Americannoun
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clitorises,
plural
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clitorides
plural
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the erectile organ of the vulva, used exclusively for sexual arousal and stimulation: located inside of the vulva except for the protruding glans.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of clitoris
First recorded in 1605–15; from Greek kleitorís, akin to kleíein “to shut”
Explanation
The clitoris is a female sexual organ. A certain type of embryonic tissue develops either into a penis, in male babies, or a clitoris, in female babies. Like the penis, the clitoris has many sensitive nerve endings. It is located at the anterior end of the vulva.
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:
Her co-authored paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B Journal this week locates the clitoris in a female snake's tail.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2022
In a 2018 study in the journal Sexual Medicine, Dr. Rubin, Dr. Goldstein and colleagues found that a failure to examine the vulva and clitoris led doctors to regularly overlook sexual health conditions.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
The most recent paper, published earlier this year by Haynes and his colleagues in the Journal of Neuroscience, located the clitoris in the same area.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 17, 2022
Do you feel uncomfortable saying the word clitoris?
From The Guardian ● Oct. 8, 2019
Indeed, besides other resemblances the monkey has mammæ, a clitoris, nymphs, uterus, uvula, eye-lobes, nails, as in the human species; it also lacks a suspensory ligament of the neck.
From Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution His Life and Work by A. S. (Alpheus Spring) Packard
It also helps surgeons to spare crucial nerves during pelvic surgery, improve gender-affirmation procedures and repair the clitorises of women who have undergone female genital mutilation.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 4, 2020
Sometimes I’ll say things like, “Yes dear, some people have clitorises and other people have penises, like Daddy.”
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2018
For instance, female spotted hyenas have enlarged clitorises called pseudo-phalluses—which look just like penises but are actually larger.
From National Geographic ● Apr. 18, 2016
Women with a disorder called congenital adrenal hyperplasia can have ambiguous genitalia, including enlarged clitorises that may look like small penises.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2012
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.
