kidney

[ kid-nee ]
See synonyms for: kidneykidneys on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural kid·neys.
  1. Anatomy. either of a pair of bean-shaped organs in the back part of the abdominal cavity that form and excrete urine, regulate fluid and electrolyte balance, and act as endocrine glands.

  2. Zoology. a corresponding organ in other vertebrate animals or an organ of like function in invertebrates.

  1. the meat of an animal's kidney used as food.

  2. constitution or temperament: He was a quiet child, of a different kidney from his boisterous brothers.

  3. kind, sort, or class: He is only at ease with men of his own kidney.

Origin of kidney

1
1275–1325; Middle English kidenei,kidenere (singular), kideneres, kideneren (plural); origin uncertain; perhaps a compound based either on nere (singular), neres (plural) kidney (Old English *nēore; compare Old High German nioro,Old Norse nȳra); or ei (singular), eiren (plural) egg1, Old English ǣg (singular), ǣgru (plural) (by association with the organ's shape); for the first element compare dial. kid pod (akin to cod2)

Other words from kidney

  • kid·ney·like, adjective

Words Nearby kidney

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kidney in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for kidney

kidney

/ (ˈkɪdnɪ) /


noun
  1. either of two bean-shaped organs at the back of the abdominal cavity in man, one on each side of the spinal column. They maintain water and electrolyte balance and filter waste products from the blood, which are excreted as urine: Related adjectives: nephritic, renal

  2. the corresponding organ in other animals

  1. the kidneys of certain animals used as food

  2. class, type, or disposition (esp in the phrases of the same or a different kidney)

Origin of kidney

1
C14: of uncertain origin

Derived forms of kidney

  • kidneylike, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for kidney

kidney

[ kĭd ]


  1. Either of a pair of organs that are located in the rear of the abdominal cavity in vertebrates. The kidneys regulate fluid balance in the body and filter out wastes from the blood in the form of urine. The functional unit of the kidney is the nephron. Wastes filtered from the blood by the nephrons drain into the ureters, muscular tubes that connect each kidney to the bladder. See also nephron.

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