rectal

From rectum + -al.

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛk.təl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: rec‧tal

rectal (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) Of, via or related to the rectum.

   The customs inspector subjected him to a rectal exam.

   • 2009, “THAT'S THAT”, in BORN LIKE THIS, performed by DOOM:

     Give a MC a rectal hysterectomy / Lecture on removal of the bowels, foul technically

   • 2025 March 21, Katia Hetter, “Reduce your risk of colon and rectal cancer with these basic steps”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     Colorectal cancer refers to colon cancer, which starts in the colon, and rectal cancer, which starts in the rectum.

• anal

rectal (plural rectals)

1. (informal) Ellipsis of rectal examination.
   • 1988, Judith Campbell, J. Golick, Sexuality: An Education Resource Book, page 53:

     Most doctors feel a rectal examination is unnecessary following a full pelvic examination, so that rectals are not routinely performed on women.

• Claret, arclet, cartel, claret, lacert

From recte +‎ -al.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [rəkˈtal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [rekˈtal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

rectal m or f (masculine and feminine plural rectals)

1. rectal

• “rectal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

• IPA^(key): /ʁɛk.tal/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Homophones: rectale, rectales

rectal (feminine rectale, masculine plural rectaux, feminine plural rectales)

1. rectal

   Les douaniers lui ont infligé une fouille rectale

   The customs inspector subjected him to a rectal exam

• “rectal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• cartel, clarté, tacler

rectal (not comparable)

1. rectal

rectal m or f (plural rectais, not comparable)

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of retal; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspelling

• “rectal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “rectal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French rectal.

rectal m or n (feminine singular rectală, masculine plural rectali, feminine/neuter plural rectale)

1. rectal

• IPA^(key): /reɡˈtal/ [reɣ̞ˈt̪al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: rec‧tal

rectal m or f (masculine and feminine plural rectales)

1. rectal

• “rectal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025