# cloaca

> English word · Noun · IPA /kləʊˈeɪ.kə/ · frequency rank #78,478

## Definitions
1. A sewer.
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.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cloāca (“sewer”), related to cluō (“cleanse; purge”), but the derivation is uncertain.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cloaca