feces
Americannoun
-
waste matter discharged from the intestines through the anus; excrement.
-
dregs; sediment.
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of feces
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin faecēs grounds, dregs, sediment (plural of faex )
Explanation
Feces is a technical word for poop: the brown stuff you excrete from your butt. Everyone makes feces. Also called a bowel movement or stool — plus hundreds of terms in slang — feces is the solid waste material your body makes when you go number two. This isn't the word you'd probably use with your buddies, but it is the right word if you're writing a paper or talking to a teacher. Talking about feces can seem funny, but it's pretty important: if you couldn't make feces, you'd die.
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.
The rare respiratory disease, for which there is no cure, typically spreads through the urine, feces and saliva of infected rodents.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
The strain on the cruise ship is mostly spread by long-tailed pygmy rice rats via their saliva, feces or urine.
From Salon • May 11, 2026
Even after the recommended treatment period had ended, researchers detected two of the four active ingredients commonly found in isoxazoline products in the animals' feces.
From Science Daily • Feb. 22, 2026
Transmission most often occurs when people or pets ingest food or water contaminated with raccoon feces.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026
‘I have been eating feces like I always do,’ Dog answered.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
