trachea
Americannoun
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tracheae,
plural
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tracheas
plural
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Anatomy, Zoology. the tube in humans and other air-breathing vertebrates extending from the larynx to the bronchi, serving as the principal passage for conveying air to and from the lungs; the windpipe.
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(in insects and other arthropods) one of the air-conveying tubes of the respiratory system.
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Botany. vessel.
noun
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tracheae
plural
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The tube in vertebrate animals that leads from the larynx to the bronchial tubes and carries air to the lungs. In mammals the trachea is strengthened by rings of cartilage.
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Also called windpipe
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Any of the tiny tubes originating from the spiracles of many terrestrial arthropods and forming a branching network that brings air directly to body cells.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of trachea
1350–1400; Middle English trache < Medieval Latin trāchēa, for Late Latin trāchīa < Greek trācheîa, short for artēría trācheîa rough artery, i.e., windpipe
Compare meaning
How does trachea compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Trachea is another name for windpipe, which is the tube that connects your larynx to your primary bronchi, just before your lungs. You can't breathe without your trachea. The word trachea is from the Greek phrase for windpipe — trakheia arteria, which literally meant "rough artery." The trachea is formed from rings of cartilage, which give the trachea its rough appearance. If you can't breathe, you may need a tracheotomy, which is a procedure in which the doctor makes an incision and then places a tube in your trachea below the obstruction so you can still take air into your lungs.
Vocabulary lists containing trachea
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:
The trouble with this was that the abductor muscles are the ones that open the trachea, allowing airflow to the lungs.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
Chemotherapy and radiation left him with a tube in his trachea and difficulty breathing - something that was written into his final role, reprising his "Iceman" character in the 2022 Top Gun sequel.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
"You can protect the blood vessels in your neck. It also helps shield your trachea in front," he added.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
It found evidence of “severe bilateral acute pulmonary edema” and “frothy pulmonary edema in trachea and mainstem bronchi.”
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2025
Less than two weeks before departing for Nepal he had undergone minor throat surgery, leaving his trachea in an extremely sensitive condition.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Paolo Macchiarini, the surgeon famed and then disgraced for implanting artificial tracheae seeded with stem cells into patients, took the stand in his trial for assault in Solna, Sweden, last week.
From Science Magazine ● May 11, 2022
I started going to twee pet shops for cow tracheae, bull penises and limited-ingredient-grain-free-single-source kibble.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2018
Aquatic chelicerates utilize gill respiration, whereas terrestrial species use either tracheae or book lungs for gaseous exchange.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Canine Health Foundation, as well as to their collaboration with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals to measure the diameters of tracheae in bulldogs in order to combat bracycephalic airway syndrome.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2011
A great point of interest therefore exists in the knowledge of the structure and embryology of tracheae in the different groups.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various
Earlier studies from other research groups suggested that flu-related glycan receptors were present in the noses, tracheas, and lungs of cattle.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
We need our tracheas to stay open while we recline, lest we suffer apneas and struggle to breath during slumber.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2022
Hundreds of Americans are estimated to die each year because techniques like stents, surgery or lasers cannot heal their damaged tracheas, and they suffocate when airways narrow dangerously or collapse.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2021
But how were doctors and scientists involved in the care of seriously ill patients able to use these tracheas when there was little evidence that they worked?
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2019
Macchiarini operated on more than a dozen other patients, but switched to using tracheas made from a polymer instead of donor organs in 2011.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 29, 2018
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.
