feces
Americannoun
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waste matter discharged from the intestines through the anus; excrement.
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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.
Cyclosporiasis comes from food that’s gotten contaminated with human feces while being washed in fields or processing plants.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
People contract the illness by consuming food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person that contained the parasite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Cyclospora is spread when people consume foods or drink water that are contaminated with feces.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Hachadourian says some blooms smell like dog feces and others like rotting flesh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Lumps of feces were strewn about, and little footprints trailed away from a dark hole in the floor.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
