kidney

/ˈkɪdni/

/ˈkɪdni/

Other forms: kidneys

Most people are born with two kidneys, internal organs with the job of filtering waste and excreting urine. All vertebrates — animals with spines — have kidneys.

Human kidneys are shaped like large beans, and this is where the "kidney bean," a common red-colored bean, gets its name. The organs called kidneys are vital to life, as they filter bad stuff from your blood, help your body get rid of waste, regulate your blood pressure, and even produce hormones. The word kidney is probably a compound of the Old English cwið, "womb," and ey, "egg," describing the organ's shape.

Definitions of kidney

1. noun

   either of two bean-shaped excretory organs that filter wastes (especially urea) from the blood and excrete them and water in urine
   “urine passes out of the kidney through ureters to the bladder”

   type of:

   excretory organ, urinary organ

   an organ that separates waste substances from the blood and discharges them