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recrement

American  
[rek-ruh-muhnt] / ˈrɛk rə mənt /

noun

  1. Physiology. a secretion, as saliva, that is reabsorbed by the body.

  2. refuse separated from anything; dross.

recrement British  
/ ˈrɛkrɪmənt /

noun

  1. physiol any substance, such as bile, that is secreted from a part of the body and later reabsorbed instead of being excreted

  2. waste matter; refuse; dross

"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

Other Word Forms

  • recremental adjective

Etymology

Origin of recrement

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French, from Latin recrēmentum “dross, refuse,” from re- re- + crē- (variant stem of cernere “to decide, separate, sift”) + -mentum -ment

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.

The animal, in that case, would arm itself with its own refuse in the same way as it sometimes builds itself a home with its intestinal recrement.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

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.