Definition

1. Noun:
   • A thick-walled muscular pouch in the digestive tract of many birds and reptiles, used for grinding food: The gizzard is an organ located after the crop, where ingested food is mechanically broken down, often with the aid of small stones or grit swallowed by the animal.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The chicken's gizzard contains small stones that help it grind up seeds.
  • In biology class, we dissected a bird to examine its gizzard.
  • Food passes from the bird's crop into its muscular gizzard.

Advanced Usage

• "to stick in one's gizzard": (idiom) to be difficult to accept or swallow; to cause resentment or disgust.
  • His arrogant remarks really stick in my gizzard.
• "to fret one's gizzard": (idiom, archaic) to worry or be anxious.
  • Don't fret your gizzard over such a minor problem.

Variants and Related Words

• Giblets (noun): The edible internal organs of a bird, which often include the heart, liver, and gizzard.
  • The gravy was made from the turkey's giblets.
• Ventriculus (noun): A technical/biological term for the gizzard.

Synonyms

• Muscular stomach: A descriptive synonym emphasizing its function.
• Maw: An older or less specific term for the stomach or throat of an animal.

Related Idioms

• "to stick in one's gizzard": To be unacceptable or hard to endure.
  • The unfairness of the decision stuck in her gizzard for weeks.
• "to fret one's gizzard": To worry oneself.
  • He's always fretting his gizzard about things he cannot change.

Noun

1. thick-walled muscular pouch below the crop in many birds and reptiles for grinding food