gizzard

American  

[giz-erd] / ˈgɪz ərd /

noun

Zoology.

• gizzards
  plural

1. Also called ventriculus. a thick-walled, muscular pouch in the lower stomach of many birds and reptiles that grinds food, often with the aid of ingested stones or grit.

2. Also called gastric mill. a similar structure in the foregut of arthropods and several other invertebrates, often lined with chitin and small teeth.

3. the innards or viscera collectively, especially the intestine and stomach.

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gizzard British  

/ ˈɡɪzəd /

noun

1. the thick-walled part of a bird's stomach, in which hard food is broken up by muscular action and contact with grit and small stones

2. a similar structure in many invertebrates

3. informal the stomach and entrails generally

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gizzard Scientific  

/ gĭz′ərd /

1. A muscular pouch behind the stomach in birds. It has a thick lining and often contains swallowed sand or grit, which helps in the mechanical breakdown of food.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gizzards
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of gizzard

1325–75; Middle English giser < Old French giser, gezier ( French gésier ) < Vulgar Latin *gigerium; compare Latin gigeria, gizeria giblets, perhaps ultimately < Iranian; compare Persian jigar liver

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Explanation

A gizzard is an internal organ that some kinds of animals have in their digestive tracts. Turkeys and chickens use their gizzard to grind up food, often along with small stones they swallow. Some crustaceans and fish have gizzards, and so do birds, crocodiles, and alligators. Dinosaurs had gizzards too! If you've ever cooked a Thanksgiving turkey, you might recognize the gizzard as one of the parts that are removed before roasting, but in many cuisines the gizzard is a delicious treat. In a live animal, the gizzard performs the function of teeth, grinding food to make it more digestible.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gizzard gizzards

Jackie also showed signs of chronic disease involving the ventriculus, also known as gizzard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Like its fellow enantiornithines, and unlike modern birds, it does not appear to have a digestive organ called a gizzard, or gastric mill, that helped it crush up its food.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2024

Before anything enters a bird's gizzard, an organ for grinding up food, the proventriculus secretes digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid to break down meals.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023

In Googling, I see that’s called the gizzard, and it is acidic.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

“That boy got a thumpin’ gizzard for a heart!”

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper

Moses also took after his mother and his aunt with his love of cooking, she said; his specialty was fried chicken gizzards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2025

Many species of birds purposefully consume small stones and grit, which collect in their gizzards – the second part of their stomachs – and help the birds digest their food by pulverizing it.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 22, 2023

The gizzards, kidneys, livers and guts shrink to lighten the load for the trans-Pacific journey.

From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

There’s also a separate cooler for skewers — short rib, chicken heart and gizzards.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022

Matt didn’t know what gizzards were and he didn’t want to find out.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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