English Reference

Word

vagina

Phoneticsvagi·na

US/vəˈdʒaɪnə/

UK/vədʒˈaɪnɐ/

Definitions

01anatomy

B2 · Medicine

n. the part of a woman's body that connects the outer sex organs to the womb.

n. the internal muscular canal in female mammals leading from the vulva to the cervix of the uterus.

“The doctor explained how the baby moves through the vagina during birth.”

“The lining of the vagina undergoes significant physiological changes during the different phases of the menstrual cycle.”

Technical

Usage

In medical contexts, it refers specifically to the internal canal, not the external parts.

Synonyms

birth canal

03botany

C2 · Science

n. a part of a plant that wraps around a stem like a sleeve.

n. a sheathlike structure, such as the base of a leaf that surrounds a stem.

“The grass leaf forms a protective vagina around the young stem.”

“The botanical description noted that the leaf's vagina was particularly elongated, providing structural support to the primary stalk.”

Technical

Synonyms

Real-World Examples

“The kits contain a swab to collect a sample from the vagina.”
The Guardian · 25 Aug 2026
“It could also have something to do with the female’s unusual vagina, which has many folds, sudden turns and pockets.”
Smithsonian Magazine · 14 Aug 2026

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāgīnā Latin vāgīnalbor. English vagina Learned borrowing from Latin vāgīna (“a sheath, scabbard; a covering, sheath, holder”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

vaginaNounvaginalAdjective

Domains

AnatomyBotany

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/vagina

English Reference