gastrolith

G2A1S1T1R1O1L1I1T1H4

noun

A stone or rock ingested by certain animals and retained in their digestive tract, particularly the gizzard, in order to assist in grinding food or serve other functions like ballast.

Scrabble 14
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Meanings

noungastrolith (plural gastroliths)

plural gastroliths

  1. biologyA stone or rock ingested by certain animals and retained in their digestive tract, particularly the gizzard, in order to assist in grinding food or serve other functions like ballast.

Origin

From gastro- + -lith.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish jauhinkivi
  • jauhinkivizoology: rock in digestive tract
French gastrolithe
  • gastrolithezoology: rock in digestive tract
German Gastrolith
  • Gastrolithzoology: rock in digestive tract
Portuguese gastrólito
  • gastrólitozoology: rock in digestive tract
Cite this entry
APA

gastrolith. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrolith

MLA

“gastrolith.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrolith. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gastrolith,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrolith.

Source: gastrolith on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.