uropygial gland

Save This Word!

noun Ornithology.

a gland opening on the back at the base of the tail in most birds that secretes an oily fluid used by the bird in preening its feathers.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Also called oil gland, preen gland.

Origin of uropygial gland

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby uropygial gland

uropod, uropoiesis, uroporphyrin, uroporphyrinogen, uropygial, uropygial gland, uropygium, uroradiology, uroscheocele, uroschesis, uroscopy

How to use uropygial gland in a sentence

Others who, because of a tumor in the pituitary gland, may overproduce HGH develop a different problem: gigantism.
Is HGH, Allegedly Alex Rodriguez’s Drug of Choice, Really So Bad?|Kent Sepkowitz|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Carrey sings: "You're a big, big man with a little bitty gland, so you need something bigger with a hairpin trigger."
"Hee-Haw": Jim Carrey Mocks Gun Lovers & Charlton Heston In Spoof|Anna Klassen|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
HGH is a hormone normally made in tiny amounts by the pituitary gland in all of us.
Where Were the Doctors to Testify at Roger Clemens’s Perjury Trial?|Kent Sepkowitz|June 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
To decimate the malformation, destroying the offending oil gland once it morphs into something with a head.
My Odyssey Into Extreme Dermatology|Elizabeth Hayt|April 15, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The thymus gland attains a considerable development in the embryo and shrinks away to the merest vestige in the adult.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
The strong probability is that this gland belongs in the same category with other embryonic survivals yet to be pointed out.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
It is nearly always accompanied by a distinct hypertrophy of the thymus gland.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley
I want a ball bat to club every country jake doctor that looks me over and asks about my pituitary gland.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
The mucus secreted from gland cells in this lining makes a slippery surface so that the food may slip down easily.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for uropygial gland

uropygial gland

noun

a gland, situated at the base of the tail in most birds, that secretes oil used in preening

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