bowel movement

IPA/ˈbaʊəl muːvmənt/
IPA/ˈbaʊəl muːvmənt/

bowel movement — noun

1. The process of solid waste leaving the body through the anus, or the stool that

1.nounB1
Definition

The process of solid waste leaving the body through the anus, or the stool that comes out.

Example

The nurse asked Daniel if he had a bowel movement that morning.

have a bowel movement (standard medical phrasing)

Yasmin felt a sharp pain during her bowel movement and called the clinic.

Common collocations
  • have a bowel movement
  • regular bowel movements
  • normal bowel movement
  • first bowel movement
  • painful bowel movement
Synonyms
  • defecation

    more clinical and technical; used in medical textbooks

  • stool

    refers specifically to the waste matter, not the act of passing it

  • poo

    informal, everyday word; not suitable for medical contexts

Antonyms
  • constipation

    the condition of being unable to have a bowel movement

Grammar Patterns

have a bowel movement

regular bowel movements

Usage Note

Used mainly in medical and clinical settings. In everyday speech, people more often say 'go to the toilet', 'poo' (British), or 'poop' (American).

Common Mistakes

I haven't done a bowel movement in two days.
I haven't had a bowel movement in two days.
Use 'have' not 'do' with bowel movement.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bowel movement is the standard polite term used in everyday medical conversations — what a nurse or doctor says when speaking to a patient. Defecation is the formal, technical term found in textbooks and research papers; it sounds cold and clinical in casual talk. Stool refers only to the waste matter itself, never the act — you can say 'a stool sample' but not 'I need a stool.' Feces is the scientific term for the waste, common in lab reports and biology. Excrement is a more general and slightly old-fashioned word for all bodily waste, including urine. If you are talking to a doctor, bowel movement is the safest, most natural choice.

defecation ↗stool ↗feces ↗excrement ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • have a bowel movement
  • pass a bowel movement
  • regular bowel movements

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Bowel comes from Latin botellus ('small sausage') via Old French boel, referring to the intestines. Movement comes from Latin movere ('to move'). The compound bowel movement first appeared in the 19th century as a polite medical euphemism for defecation.

First known use

1870

1870, in the meaning defined above