noun
gullet
GUL-it/ˈɡʌlɪt/
The passage that carries food from the throat to the stomach.
Food travels down your gullet on its way to your stomach.
Etymology
The formation means ‘little throat.’ Its French ancestor could also name a bottle’s neck or a gutter, showing the throat understood as a narrow passage—the image retained in the anatomical meaning.
More examples
- A piece of meat is stuck in his gullet.
- The snake's gullet stretches to let a large meal pass.
- Muscles in the gullet push swallowed food toward the stomach.
Forms
gullet · gullets
Similar words
- esophagus
- The standard anatomical name for the same food passage.
- throat
- Usually refers to the higher passage carrying both food and air.