Meaning & use
entrails
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Meanings
nounplural
The soft inner organs of a body, especially the intestines, of a person or an animal.
Grammar: Always plural with a plural verb: the entrails were removed, never an entrail.
Patterns
- the entrails of something
The hunter cleaned the deer and buried its entrails far from the camp.
In ancient Rome, priests studied the entrails of sacrificed animals for signs about the future.
The painting showed a battlefield with the entrails of fallen horses spilling onto the mud.
nounpluralfigurativeliterary
The deep inner workings of a large structure or machine, seen as hidden and complicated.
Grammar: Used figuratively, again with a plural verb: the entrails of the ship were hot and noisy.
Patterns
- the entrails of something
We crept down into the entrails of the old factory, where pipes snaked in every direction.
The mechanic slid under the car and stared up into its greasy entrails.
Common combinations
- remove the entrails
- Remove the entrails before you cook the fish.
- spill someone's entrails
- The old ballad describes a knight whose entrails were spilled on the field.
- read the entrails
- The fortune-teller claimed she could read the entrails of a chicken.
- animal entrails
- Vultures circled the carcass and fed on the animal entrails.
- the entrails of the earth
- The miners worked deep in the entrails of the earth.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guts
- Guts is the plain, everyday word and sounds more casual, while entrails sounds formal, historical or grisly.
- innards
- Innards is informal and often used for machines or food as well, whereas entrails mostly refers to bodies and sounds more dramatic.
- viscera
- Viscera is a medical or scientific term for the organs inside the body cavity, while entrails is more general and literary.
- intestines
- Intestines names one specific part of the digestive system, but entrails covers the whole mass of inner organs.
Word family
- entrail noun
- a rare singular form, almost never used on its own
- disembowel verb
- to remove the entrails of a body
- eviscerate verb
- to take out the inner organs of an animal or person
Commonly confused: entrails or entrance?
entrails vs entrance
An entrance is a way in, such as a door, and has nothing to do with organs; it is also pronounced differently.
Practice
Which sentence uses entrails correctly?
Choose one answer.
Entrails is plural only, so it needs a plural verb (were). The other options use a singular form or a singular verb or article.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “entrails”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.