kidney stone

American  

noun

Pathology.

• kidney stones
  plural

1. an abnormal stone, or concretion, composed primarily of oxalates and phosphates, found in the kidney.

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kidney stone British  

noun

1. Also called: renal calculus.  pathol a hard mass formed in the kidney, usually composed of oxalates, phosphates, and carbonates

2. mineralogy another name for nephrite

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kidney stone Scientific  

1. A calculus that originates in the kidney and is usually composed of calcium salts, uric acid, cystine, and other compounds. Kidney stones cause extreme pain and bleeding if they obstruct the passage of urine in the kidney or in the ureter. They can often be treated with lithotripsy .

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kidney stones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kidney stone

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kidney stone

“I go into rehearsals for ‘Cabaret’ on Broadway ... and everything seems fine, and a month in, the kidney stone pain comes back,” he told Madison.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

In the meantime, the stoics among us will just wait until this too shall pass — like a bad kidney stone.

From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2026

I prayed to be anywhere else, like maybe at the hospital passing a kidney stone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

Louise Marshallsay, 46, from Swansea, needed life-saving treatment after being admitted to Morriston hospital with a kidney stone in 2022, but lost her fingers as well as five toes.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025

My mother used to get them too, and I remember she told me once she’d rather give birth than pass a kidney stone.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini