epiglottis

«epiglottis» in Mova's school dictionary: a small flap at the back of your throat that closes when… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (the epiglottis, epiglottises)

meaning for a pupil

1) The epiglottis is a small flap at the back of your throat that closes when you swallow, so food goes down to your stomach and not into your lungs. tree →

2) It opens again when you breathe so air can reach your windpipe. tree →

sense in the lessons

A body word in science and health lessons about swallowing, breathing and choking. If food goes «down the wrong way», the epiglottis did not close in time and you cough. Phrases: «the epiglottis closes», «flap of the epiglottis».

examples

• The epiglottis stops food going into your lungs. tree →
• When you swallow, the epiglottis covers your windpipe. tree →
• If you laugh while eating, the epiglottis may not close in time. tree →
• Coughing helps clear food that went down the wrong way past the epiglottis. tree →
• We labelled the epiglottis on a diagram of the throat. tree →
• The epiglottis is made of soft cartilage. tree →
• Don't talk with your mouth full, because your epiglottis has to choose air or food. tree →
• The doctor explained the epiglottis with a model. tree →

note

Say «ep-ih-GLOT-is». Usually «the epiglottis», since each person has one. Do not confuse with the uvula, the dangly bit you see at the back of your mouth.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «epiglottis» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.