What does "oesophagus" mean?

The tube that carries food from the pharynx to the stomach.

What is a synonym for "oesophagus"?

Common synonyms include: gullet, esophagus, esophagus, food pipe, gorge, gullet.

Pronounced //ɪˈsɑfəɡəs//.

//ɪˈsɑfəɡəs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The tube that carries food from the pharynx to the stomach.
"Graham, who lived in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, donated his oesophagus to the MRC cancer unit at Cambridge University, for research."
2
the passage between the pharynx and the stomach wordnet

"Heartburn occurs when acid from the stomach gets into the oesophagus."

From Ancient Greek οἰσοφάγος (oisophágos), from οἴσω (oísō), future form of φέρω (phérō, “I carry”) + ἔφαγον (éphagon, “I ate”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.