noun

orifice

OR-ih-fis/ˈɔːrɪfɪs/

An opening into a body cavity or device.

The ear canal's orifice forms a dark opening within the outer ear.

A close-up of a human outer ear, angled so the dark entrance to the ear canal is clearly visible as a natural bodily opening.

Etymology

The pieces literally suggest “mouth-making”: an orifice is an opening conceived as a mouth. The recorded sense “opening of a wound” shows this image applied to a bodily aperture.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain546:36

by interchanging the use of each orifice forcing solids and liquids in at the anus and making evacuations at the mouth

1700s Satire: Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels (Audiobook)

More examples

The mouth is an orifice leading into the digestive tract.
Mineral deposits clog the tiny orifices in the showerhead.
The technician measures the orifice before installing the valve.

Forms

orifice · orifices

Similar words

opening: Opening is broader and less technical, covering gaps of any kind.
aperture: Aperture often refers to an opening that admits light.