noun
stool
Waste passed from the bowels.
The laboratory examines a stool sample for signs of infection.
Etymology
Stool originally means a seat. Its bodily-waste sense developed through the toilet seat or close-stool and the act performed while seated there.
More examples
- The nurse asked about changes in his stool.
- A container held the sample of stool.
- The clinician recorded the frequency of her stools.
Forms
stool · stools
Similar words
- feces
- The more explicit medical term for the waste material.
- excrement
- Excrement is a broader formal term for bodily waste.