Trachea definition
In the respiratory system of insects and certain other invertebrates, any of the tubules branching throughout the body and conducting air from the exterior.
noun
The trachea is the respiratory tract in most land creatures.
An example of a trachea is the tube in the human from the larynx to the bronchi.
noun
(anatomy) A thin-walled, cartilaginous tube descending from the larynx to the bronchi and carrying air to the lungs.
noun
In the respiratory tract of most land vertebrates, the tube extending from the larynx to the two bronchi; windpipe.
noun
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(anatomy) A thin-walled, cartilaginous tube descending from the larynx to the bronchi and carrying air to the lungs.
noun
(zoology) One of the internal respiratory tubes of insects and some other terrestrial arthropods, which are connected to the spiracles and are used for gas exchange.
noun
The tube in vertebrate animals that leads from the larynx to the bronchial tubes and carries air to the lungs. In mammals the trachea is strengthened by rings of cartilage.
Any of the tiny tubes originating from the spiracles of many terrestrial arthropods and forming a branching network that brings air directly to body cells.
noun
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(zoology) One of the internal respiratory tubes of insects and some other terrestrial arthropods, which are connected to the spiracles and are used for gas exchange.
noun
(botany) A tracheary element.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
trachea
Plural:
tracheae, tracheasOrigin of trachea
- Middle English trache from Medieval Latin trāchēa from Late Latin trāchīa from Greek (artēriā) trākheia rough (artery), trachea (as opposed to the smooth vessels that carry blood and not air) feminine of trākhus rough
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Latin trachia (“windpipe"), from Ancient Greek τραχεῖα (trachea, “windpipe")
From Wiktionary