clitoris
Americannoun
-
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:
In the womb, they will develop a male anatomy until the final stage of growing a penis - and when they are not able to, then they’ll start developing a vulva and a clitoris.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
For example, artificial insemination studies in cattle have found stimulation of the clitoris can help increase pregnancy.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 16, 2023
Do you feel uncomfortable saying the word clitoris?
From The Guardian ● Oct. 8, 2019
Dr. Ivona Percec, a plastic surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, said she thought an operation could ease the pain but might fail to uncover any remnant of the clitoris beneath the scarring.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2019
Cassano and Pedretti of Naples reported an instance of monstrous clitoris in 1860 before the Academy of Medicine.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)
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.
