Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The canal through which urine is discharged from the bladder in most mammals and through which semen is discharged in the male.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A modification of a part of a urogenital sinus into a tube or a groove for the discharge of the secretion of the genital or urinary organs, or both; in most mammals, including man, a complete tube from the bladder to the exterior, conveying urine and semen in the male sex, urine only in the female; in some birds, a penial groove for the conveyance of semen only.
  • noun the penis of any animal; in man, the spongy urethra.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) The canal by which the urine is conducted from the bladder and discharged.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy The tube through which urine exits the body and, in males, through which semen is ejaculated.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun duct through which urine is discharged in most mammals and which serves as the male genital duct

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin ūrēthra, from Greek ourēthra, from ourein, to urinate.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

First coined 1634, from Ancient Greek οὐρήθρα (ourēthra, "the passage for urine"), from οὐρέω (oureō, "to make water").

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Examples

  • The urethra is a small tube that connects the bladder with the outside of the body.

    Nuclear VCUG 2010

  • The urethra is the small tube that connects the bladder with the outside of the body.

    VCUG (Voiding Cysto-Urethrogram) 2010

  • Calculi do not form so readily in women, for in them the urethra is short and wide, so that in them the urine is easily expelled; neither do they rub the pudendum with their hands, nor handle the passage like males; for the urethra in women opens direct into the pudendum, which is not the case with men, neither in them is the urethra so wide, and they drink more than children do.

    On Airs, Waters, And Places 2007

  • In the female, the urethra is short and terminates in the vulva.

    Common Diseases of Farm Animals R. A. Craig

  • The female urethra is short and situated close to the faecal reservoir, explaining the much higher incidence of urinary tract infections in females compared to males.

    unknown title 2009

  • The female urethra is short and situated close to the faecal reservoir, explaining the much higher incidence of urinary tract infections in females compared to males.

    unknown title 2009

  • Between your clitoris and vaginal opening is your urethra, and just above the urethra is your bladder.

    Wild Feminine Tami Lynn Kent 2011

  • Between your clitoris and vaginal opening is your urethra, and just above the urethra is your bladder.

    Wild Feminine Tami Lynn Kent 2011

  • I glanced quickly to the wall of the giant diagram of the male anatomy and I was reminded that the urethra is a miniscule tube through which I had always peed.

    Sleepwalk With Me Mike Birbiglia 2010

  • It was thick and black but neatly groomed, and it lay just below the very tip, as if the orifice of his urethra were a single nostril.

    The Best American Erotica 2006 Edited by Susie Bright 2006

Comments

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  • Just a stupid word. Unbelievable.

    December 23, 2008

  • Obviously you've never heard Urethra Franklin, or you wouldn't say that.

    December 23, 2008

  • Snork!

    But seriously... not to be confused with ureter.

    December 23, 2008