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diaphragm

UK/ˈdaɪəˌfɹæm/US/ˈdaɪəˌfɹæm/
nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,869 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: diaphragms

The diaphragm is the muscle below the lungs that draws breath in. Breathe from the diaphragm, the diaphragm contracts, a ruptured diaphragm.

It flattens when it contracts, making the chest bigger and pulling air in, so breathing in is active and breathing out is mostly letting go. Singers and wind players train it. Hiccups are the diaphragm spasming. The gh is silent.

Definitions of diaphragm

  1. 1noundiaphragmThe muscle below the lungs that draws breath in.C1

    “Singers learn to breathe deeply, using the diaphragm rather than the chest.”

diaphragm is a muscle.

Where it comes from

Greek diaphragma means a partition — dia, across, plus phragma, a fence or barrier.

  1. Ancient Greek

    διάφραγμα — partition

  2. Middle English

    diafragma

  3. English, today

    diaphragm

Built from

  • διά · Ancient Greek — across
  • φράγμα · Ancient Greek — barrier

From Middle English diafragma, Ancient Greek διάφραγμα (“partition”), from διά (“across”) and φράγμα (“barrier”), from the verb φράσσω. late 14th century.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

diaphragm in the wild

  • The diaphragm is flexed, causing the volume of the pump chamber to increase and decrease.

    Diaphragm pump

  • The diaphragm(s) again are flexed, causing the volume to change.

    Diaphragm pump

  • The nerve is important for breathing because it provides exclusive motor control of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of respiration.

    Phrenic nerve

  • From its origin in the neck, the nerve travels downward into the chest to pass between the heart and lungs towards the diaphragm.

    Phrenic nerve

  • The diaphragm is a barrier method of birth control.

    Diaphragm (birth control)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.