digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the ingestion, digestion, and absorption of food and the discharge of residual wastes and consisting of the digestive tract and accessory glands (such as the salivary glands and the pancreas) that secrete digestive enzymes

Examples of digestive system in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dark-red or brown stools could be due to blood being higher up in the digestive system, in the small intestine. —Dr. Roshini Raj, Health, 17 June 2024

All of those components of a carcass will pass straight through the bear’s digestive system and come out the other side. —Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 30 May 2024

Scientists are working out how the presence or absence of certain bacteria in kids' digestive systems affects allergic risk, thanks to technological advances that let researchers identify more types of gut microbes. —Lydia Denworth, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024

The work was challenging, in part, because acid from goat poop and from the digestive systems of hyenas chowing down on the bones had obliterated much of the fossil DNA. —Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the intake, breakdown, and absorption of food and the discharge of wastes and that includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, anus, and glands (as the salivary glands)

Medical Definition

digestive system

noun

: the bodily system concerned with the ingestion, digestion, and absorption of food and the discharge of residual wastes and consisting of the digestive tract and accessory glands (such as the salivary glands and the pancreas) that secrete digestive enzymes

called also alimentary system