gastric juice

noun

: a thin watery acid digestive fluid secreted by glands in the mucous membrane of the stomach

Examples of gastric juice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After a few minutes, the concentration of acetaldehyde goes up immediately in the saliva, gastric juices, colon, and in the blood. Angus Chen, STAT, 27 Dec. 2023 The bitter flavor has a strong effect on digestion by stimulating the intestines and the production of saliva, bile, and gastric juices. Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 18 Dec. 2023 Pall Thordarson, the director of the University of New South Wales RNA Institute, previously told USA TODAY that even if someone did ingest elements of a vaccine, the particles would be destroyed in the stomach by gastric juices. Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 9 May 2023 Additionally, lemon is known to stimulate the production of bile and gastric juices and can therefore prevent gas formation. Ana Morales, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2023 The mucin then detaches from the membrane of the cell, carrying the would-be invader along with it into the acidic gastric juice. Diana Kwon, Discover Magazine, 9 July 2019 Fenton says another thing to keep in mind: All food goes to the stomach and mixes with gastric juice that’s set at a low pH of around 1 or 2 — so, slightly less acidic than battery acid. Megan Schmidt, Discover Magazine, 19 June 2020 Then, those pieces of protein move to the stomach to get mixed up with gastric juices containing acids and enzymes that help break down food. Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 20 June 2019 Other such treatments in history included cigarettes laced with mercury or arsenic, port-wine enemas, the excreta of chameleons and Indian river snakes, and the gastric juices of crows. Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gastric juice.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1736, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gastric juice was circa 1736

Dictionary Entries Near gastric juice

Cite this Entry

“Gastric juice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gastric%20juice. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

gastric juice

noun
: a watery acid fluid that aids digestion and is secreted by glands in the walls of the stomach

Medical Definition

gastric juice

noun
: a thin watery acid digestive fluid secreted by the glands in the mucous membrane of the stomach and containing 0.2 to 0.4 percent free hydrochloric acid and several enzymes (as pepsin)

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