fecal
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of fecal
Explanation
Anything fecal has to do with feces: what children call "number two." In other words, fecal matters involve poop. A successful children's book is called "Everyone Poops." That's a book with some seriously fecal subject matter. All fecal issues have something to do with feces: what people commonly refer to as poop or crap. You will get fecal material on your shoe if you step in dog poop. A veterinarian may run fecal tests to see if your pet has a disease. The fecal matter of an elephant is enormous.
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.
Mice exposed to sucralose showed larger changes in the composition of their fecal microbiomes, including greater numbers of potentially pathogenic bacteria and fewer beneficial species.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
They landed on Matières Fécales — not the more familiar French “merde,” or “caca,” but the considerably more clinical term for fecal matter.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
The cyclospora parasite is typically spread through food or water contaminated with human fecal matter, according to the FDA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The cyclospora parasite can spread on farms via human fecal matter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Moira was not lying, water was running over the floor, and several pieces of disintegrating fecal matter.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
