rectum
Americannoun
-
rectums,
plural
-
recta
plural
noun
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rectums
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rectum
1535–45; < New Latin rēctum ( intestīnum ) the straight (intestine)
Vocabulary lists containing rectum
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:
Gastrointestinal cancers include cancers of the esophagus, stomach, and colon or rectum.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
You’re also at risk of developing hemorrhoids—swollen veins in the anus and lower rectum that can cause pain and bleeding—according to a study that came out last week.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025
When he arrived to see what the birds were eating, he found a dead cow, its rectum and udders torn away — classic wolf kill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of the large intestine, also called the colon and rectum.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
The procedure wasn't effective because the rectum and large intestine absorbed few nutrients from the mixture, not enough to sustain a man.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
The vasa recta around it acts as the countercurrent exchanger.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
It is important to understand the difference between the glomerulus and the peritubular and vasa recta capillaries.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
In the vasa recta particularly, this rate of flow is important for two additional reasons.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
Movement of water into the peritubular capillaries and vasa recta will be influenced primarily by osmolarity and concentration gradients.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
So after Ascension Day I keep them recta an extra hour every Wednesday.
From Madame Bovary A Tale of Provincial Life by Gustave Flaubert
Wouldn’t we have died out from these mysterious “toxins”? Wouldn’t our rectums be different?
From The Guardian ● Jan. 9, 2018
At one institution, mice consistently developed prolapsed rectums and died two months after birth.
From Nature ● Jun. 9, 2015
Babies’ mouths and skin were swabbed immediately after birth, and their rectums were swabbed after their first bowel movement.
From US News ● Jun. 22, 2010
A new survey finds that babies born via cesarean section had markedly different bacteria on their skin, noses mouths and rectums than babies born vaginally.
From US News ● Jun. 22, 2010
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.
