- chiefly Technical an opening or mouth into a cavity; vent; aperture
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
or•i•fice /ˈɔrəfɪs, ˈɑr-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- an opening, as of a tube or pipe;
a mouthlike opening or hole.
or•i•fice
(ôr′ə fis, or′-),USA pronunciation n.
or•i•fi•cial
(ôr′ə fish′əl, or′-),USA pronunciation adj.
- an opening or aperture, as of a tube or pipe; a mouthlike opening or hole;
mouth;
vent.
- Late Latin ōrificium, equivalent. to Latin ōr- (stem of ōs) mouth + -i- -i- + -fic-, combining form of facere to make, do1 (see -fic) + -ium noun, nominal suffix
- Middle French
- 1535–45
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
orifice /ˈɒrɪfɪs/ n
'orifice' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
faucet
- invasive
- tap
- vulva
- aortic stenosis
- aspirator
- bleed
- bush
- crater
- effuse
- effusion
- flatter
- foramen
- hydraulic
- hymen
- irrigate
- jet
- micropyle
- opening
- os
- ostium
- peristome
- phimosis
- pore
- tampon
- tent
- Torricelli's law
- urceolate
- vena contracta
- water-inch
- speculum
- sphincter
- spiracle
- spout
- squirt
- stop