kidney

noun kid·ney \ˈkid-nē\

: either of two organs in your body that remove waste products from your blood and make urine

: an animal kidney used as food

plural kidneys

Full Definition of KIDNEY

a : one of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in humans are bean-shaped organs about 4¹⁄₂ inches (11¹⁄₂ centimeters) long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into a main cavity whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder

b : any of various excretory organs of invertebrate animals

: the kidney of an animal eaten as food

: sort or kind especially with regard to temperament <a nice helpful guy, of a different kidney entirely from the … Secret Police — Paula Lecler>

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See kidney defined for kids

Origin of KIDNEY

Middle English

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to KIDNEY

Synonyms: breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, sort, kind, like, manner, nature, order, species, strain, stripe, type, variety

Rhymes with KIDNEY

Sidney, Sydney

KIDNEY Defined for Kids

kidney

noun kid·ney \ˈkid-nē\

plural kid·neys

Definition of KIDNEY for Kids

: either of a pair of organs near the backbone that give off waste from the body in the form of urine and in humans are bean-shaped

Medical Dictionary

kidney

noun kid·ney \ˈkid-nē\

plural kidneys

Medical Definition of KIDNEY

: one of a pair of vertebrate organs situated in the body cavity near the spinal column that excrete waste products of metabolism, in humans are bean-shaped organs about 4¹⁄₂ inches (11¹⁄₂ centimeters) long lying behind the peritoneum in a mass of fatty tissue, and consist chiefly of nephrons by which urine is secreted, collected, and discharged into the pelvis of the kidney whence it is conveyed by the ureter to the bladder—compare mesonephros, metanephros, pronephros

: any of various excretory organs of invertebrate animals