tonsil
Americannoun
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tonsils
plural
noun
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Also called: palatine tonsil. either of two small masses of lymphatic tissue situated one on each side of the back of the mouth
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anatomy any small rounded mass of tissue, esp lymphatic tissue
Usage
What are tonsil stones? Tonsil stones are small yellow or white lumps embedded in the tonsils. They result from bacterial or fungal build-up that forms into a nasty-smelling—but generally—harmless mass. How do you pronounce tonsil stones?[ ton-suh l stohnz ]
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tonsil
First recorded in 1595–1605, tonsil is from the Latin word tōnsillae (plural) the tonsils
Vocabulary lists containing tonsil
Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - High School
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Middle 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:
These included some types of limb surgery, kidney stone pain, pain following tonsil removal, and pain experienced by newborns using assisted breathing devices.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 9, 2026
His youngest victim, a four-year-old child, survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil surgery in 2016.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
Mike Ness, singer and guitarist for the legendary SoCal punk group Social Distortion, said Wednesday he has stage one tonsil cancer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
Still, his March diagnosis of tonsil cancer was surprising.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
When the operation was half over, he had come out into the ante-room, grinning and waving one tonsil in a pair of forceps.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Sometimes it’s a decision that is complicated and scary, like surgery for those big tonsils or scoliotic spine.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
She had a four-octave vocal range and the ability to perform everything from Schoenberg to a Spike Milligan hit about a man with too many tonsils.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2025
Doctors this year removed a small tumor in one of his tonsils.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
But many animals don’t have obvious tonsils, an apparent gap in their defenses.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 31, 2023
His voice was slightly nasal, perhaps because he needed to have his tonsils and adenoids removed.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
