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# oesophagus

noun (the oesophagus, oesophaguses or oesophagi)

«oesophagus» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

The oesophagus is the muscular tube that carries food and drink from your mouth and throat down to your stomach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#m1)

### In the lessons

Used in science lessons about the digestive system: mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine. Its muscles squeeze food down in waves, so you can swallow even upside down. In everyday life people say "food pipe" or "gullet" for it.

### Examples

- The oesophagus carries food to the stomach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x1)
- When you swallow, the oesophagus squeezes the food down. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x2)
- Label the oesophagus on the diagram of the digestive system. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x3)
- The oesophagus is behind the windpipe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x4)
- Hot drinks can hurt your oesophagus, so sip them slowly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x5)
- Astronauts can swallow in space because the oesophagus pushes the food along. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x6)
- The doctor said the fish bone was stuck in his oesophagus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/#x7)

### Note

British spelling; American spelling is "esophagus". Do not confuse it with the trachea (windpipe), which carries air to the lungs. Usually used with "the": "the oesophagus". Plural is rare.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «oesophagus» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oesophagus/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«oesophagus» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/oesophagus.html) on Mova free.