larynx
Americannoun
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larynges,
plural
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larynxes
plural
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Anatomy. a muscular and cartilaginous structure lined with mucous membrane at the upper part of the trachea in humans, in which the vocal cords are located.
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Zoology.
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a similar vocal organ in other mammals.
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a corresponding structure in certain lower animals.
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noun
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larynges
plural
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The upper part of the trachea in most vertebrate animals, containing the vocal cords. The walls of the larynx are made of cartilage. Sound is produced by air passing through the larynx on the way to the lungs, causing the walls of the larynx to vibrate. The pitch of the sound that is produced can be altered by the pull of muscles, which changes the tension of the vocal cords.
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Also called voice box
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of larynx
1570–80; < New Latin < Greek lárynx
Compare meaning
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Explanation
The larynx, or "voice box," is the cartilaginous structure at the top of the trachea, or "windpipe," which is in your throat. The larynx contains the vocal cords. The Greek word laryngos means "the upper windpipe." The larynx does all sorts of important things besides housing the vocal cords (which are actually folds, not cords). The larynx is involved in breathing, and it also helps keep food from entering your windpipe when you swallow. All mammals have one — the wolf that howls, the lion that roars, and Tarzan, who makes that — whatever that sound is he makes.
Vocabulary lists containing larynx
Gross, Anatomy!
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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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:
To confirm the source of the high frequency sound, researchers conducted excised larynx experiments.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
In most large mammals, deeper voices are expected because the larynx typically grows larger as body size increases.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
She has regular contact with her GP surgery as she is on thyroid medication after having half her larynx removed because of a benign tumour.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
Consultations with doctors eventually brought a brutal diagnosis: spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder in which the muscles in the larynx tighten or lapse into spasms, strangulating speech while making singing a significant challenge.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
Doctor Copeland held his hand to his throat because his larynx was sore.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
They passed air through larynges removed from deceased horses and then alternated the airflow between normal air and helium.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
To test these theories, scientists studied eight larynges from cats with terminal illnesses that had been humanely euthanized.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2023
To conduct the work, scientists removed the larynges from eight domestic cats, all of which had been humanely euthanized because of terminal disease and were investigated with the full consent of their owners.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 3, 2023
So Dr. Nishimura’s group removed the larynges from three deceased chimpanzees and attached them to simulated lungs; they did the same with six rhesus macaques that had been euthanized for other approved experiments.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2022
Some Greek words in x change that letter to ges; as, larynx, larynges, for larinxes; phalanx, phalanges, for phalanxes.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold
As the study authors explain, baleen whales and their toothed whale cousins could not survive with the larynxes from their land mammal ancestors.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
After conducting CT scans, the team situated the three larynxes in a laboratory air space and slowly blew air through the system to see if they could mimic a whale’s gigantic lungs.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 21, 2024
As he notes, a cat will usually only purr when it feels safe, comfortable, and content—something that wouldn’t be possible if the felines had uncomfortable probes inserted into their larynxes.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 3, 2023
They still thought it was worth wearing out their larynxes for the defense on third down.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2021
Dr. O'Dwyer, therefore, had a set made, using as models casts taken from a series of various-sized bodies, and furnishing directions to the instrument-maker from careful measurements of adult larynxes.
From Makers of Modern Medicine by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
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.
