meatus

[ mee-ey-tuhs ]

/ miˈeɪ təs /

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noun, plural me·a·tus·es, me·a·tus.Anatomy.

an opening or foramen, especially in a bone or bony structure, as the opening of the ear or nose.

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Origin of meatus

1655–65; <Latin meātus course, channel, equivalent to meā(re) to go, extend, have a course + -tus suffix of v. action

OTHER WORDS FROM meatus

me·a·tal, adjective

Words nearby meatus

meatoscopy, meatotomy, meat packing, meatspace, meat tea, meatus, meat wagon, meaty, mebendazole, mebi-, mec

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use meatus in a sentence

He refused to accept Huschke's derivation of the auditory meatus from the first gill-slit.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
This is repeated with fresh pledgets until the meatus is cleansed.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
They are comparatively rare in women, in consequence of the shortness of the urethra and the size of their meatus.
Gilbertus Anglicus|Henry Ebenezer Handerson
The great cavity is the bulla tympani or bulb of the ear; a m is the auditory meatus or external hole of the ear.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale

The external auditory meatus (ear) is a small inconspicuous opening located just below and behind the eye.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood

British Dictionary definitions for meatus

meatus

/ (mɪˈeɪtəs) /

noun plural -tuses or -tus

anatomy a natural opening or channel, such as the canal leading from the outer ear to the eardrum

Word Origin for meatus

C17: from Latin: passage, from meāre to pass

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

Medical definitions for meatus

meatus

[ mē-ā′təs ]

n. pl. me•a•tus•es

A body opening or passage, especially the external opening of a canal.