How to Use sphincter in a Sentence

sphincter

noun
  • Your rectum is designed to keep poop in with help from a muscle called the anal sphincter.
    — Lindsey Lanquist, SELF, 12 Mar. 2018
  • But his swallowing tube was wide open and the tissue around the sphincter was red and swollen.
    — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024
  • When the time comes, when sphincters get tight, will the Wildcats cower?
    — Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Doing so can help prevent dribbling even if the urethral sphincters are weak.
    — Robert Burakoff, Verywell Health, 15 July 2024
  • So that your urine can be released out of your body, the sphincter muscles around the urethra relax.
    — Jessica Migala, Health.com, 22 Feb. 2022
  • But any muscle in the body can get fatigued and fail to do its job; the anal sphincter is no exception.
    — Jessica Migala, Health, 6 Aug. 2023
  • Both sizes offer neck spirals, helping to keep lube trapped inside your sphincter for many hours at a time.
    — Emma Lowrie, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024
  • Who are these people, the people with the clipboards and white coats and tight sphincters, who get to decide?
    — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Most of the time, however, your external sphincter is to blame.
    — Julia Ries Wexler, SELF, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Those are probably marks from the anal sphincter, Chin explains.
    — Karen Wright, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
  • Your muscles relax—all of them, down to your sphincter—which leads to things like free-flowing urine and feces.
    — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 4 Apr. 2022
  • There are two circular muscles at each end, which are called the upper and the lower esophageal sphincters.
    — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 25 Nov. 2024
  • When you’re aroused, your body relaxes—including your anal sphincter.
    — Kasandra Braba, SELF, 16 Sep. 2021
  • But things that do end up getting stuck tend to do so at the sphincter muscle valve that separates the small and large intestines.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 7 Aug. 2017
  • The sphincter muscles in the lower esophagus of horses are much stronger than those in humans.
    — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2023
  • The next step is an anorectal manometry to test muscular pressure in the sphincter.
    — Cara Schacter, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2022
  • Unlike rectal cancer, which forms in the rectum or colon, anal cancer forms on the anal canal, near the sphincter muscles.
    — Christina Oehler, Health.com, 5 June 2019
  • All this time, sphincter muscles in the pelvic floor that surround the urethra are keeping your bladder from leaking all over the place.
    — Kasandra Brabaw, Health.com, 25 Aug. 2020
  • This includes the urethral sphincters, a pair of muscular valves that regulate urine flow from the bladder to the urethra.
    — Robert Burakoff, Verywell Health, 15 July 2024
  • Sometimes the upper sphincter, between the esophagus and the throat, malfunctions as well.
    — Jane E. Brody, idahostatesman, 12 May 2017
  • This forces the lower esophageal sphincter, the valve between the esophagus and the stomach, to open and close rapidly in succession.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • The ulcers created scar tissue that narrowed the pyloric sphincter that connects to her intestines.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Normally the swallowing tube ends with a tight sphincter that stays closed to protect delicate tissue from the harsh acid of the stomach.
    — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024
  • But if the nerves that control the bladder sphincter are slow to mature, a child may not wake up when his or her bladder is full, especially if that child sleeps deeply.
    — Courtenay Harris Bond, Philly.com, 25 Oct. 2017
  • The inside of your butt is very sensitive, and cool water can cause cramping among your sphincter and abdominal muscles.
    — Matt Baume, Them, 30 Nov. 2024
  • Part of what Kelley does is based on math, but part of it is designed strictly to tighten the sphincters of the people on the other sideline.
    — Andy Staples, SI.com, 11 Apr. 2018
  • That’s when the brain will send signals that relax the urethral sphincter muscle and make the bladder muscles contract to squeeze urine out, Kim said.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024
  • Gas, liquids and solids bump against the esophageal sphincter, the ring of muscular tissue that separates the esophagus from the stomach.
    — Christian Millman, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2015
  • In reflux, the lower esophageal sphincter isn't closing properly, so acid backs up from the stomach into the esophagus (food tube).
    — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 25 Sep. 2024
  • These compounds also relax the band of muscles called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
    — Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 10 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sphincter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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