lung

noun

LUNG/ˈlʌŋ/

Plurallungs

3 meanings of lung

1
nouncountable
An organ in the chest that helps you breathe and put oxygen into your blood.
Like a balloon that fills up with air when you breathe in.
Deep breaths fill each lung with fresh air.
Her lungs were full of smoke after the fire.
Note
2
nouncountableplural
The power to keep breathing strongly during hard exercise or effort.
Like an engine that can keep working hard without running out of breath.
He had the lung to run all the way up the steep hill.
Singers need strong lungs to hold long notes.
Similarwind, stamina, breath, endurance
Note
3
nouncountable
A green space, such as a park or forest, that gives a place fresh air.
Like an open window that lets clean air into a stuffy room.
The big park is the green lung of our crowded city.
Forests act as the lungs of the whole planet.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Old English lungen, going back to an old root that also gave us the word "light" (not heavy). The lung was named as "the light organ."