cloaca
clo·a·ca/kloʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/noun
cloaca is spelled C-L-O-A-C-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables (clo·a·ca). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cloaca means “A sewer” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cloaca is cloacas or cloacae.
How many letters and syllables are in cloaca?
| Letters | 6: C-L-O-A-C-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: clo·a·ca |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 78,613th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cloaca?
Cloaca appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 78,613th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cloaca?
- UK /kləʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/
- US /kloʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/
- Australia /kləʉ̯ˈæɪ̯.kə/
Cloaca has 3 syllables, split clo·a·ca in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-cloaca.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cloaca
- cloacas plural
- cloacae plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cloaca mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A sewer.
[…] that tremendous cloaca of Pauperism […]
- 2
The opening in reptiles, amphibians and birds, as well as elasmobranchians, lobe-finned fishes, and monotreme mammals, which serves as the common outlet for the urogenital ducts and rectum.
- 3
An outhouse or lavatory.
- 4
A duct through which gangrenous material escapes a body.
- 5
Structure in the embryo during the development of the reproductive and urinary systems.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cloaca in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cloaca come from?
Borrowed from Latin cloāca (“sewer”), related to cluō (“cleanse; purge”), but the derivation is uncertain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).