vestibule

views updated May 14 2018

ves·ti·bule / ˈvestəˌbyoōl/ • n. 1. an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building. ∎  an enclosed entrance compartment in a railroad car. 2. Anat. a chamber or channel communicating with or opening into another, in particular: ∎  the central cavity of the labyrinth of the inner ear. ∎  the part of the mouth outside the teeth. ∎  the space in the vulva into which both the urethra and vagina open.DERIVATIVES: ves·ti·buled adj.

vestibule

views updated May 29 2018

vestibule.
1. Enclosed or partly enclosed space (vestibulum) in front of the main entrance of a Greek or Roman house or building, i.e. an entrance-court or fore-court.

2. Entrance-lobby or hall immediately between the entrance-door and the interior of a building.

3. Ante-chamber acting as a baffle between e.g. a corridor and a room, really a communication-lobby.

vestibule

views updated May 23 2018

vestibule (vest-i-bewl) n. (in anatomy) a cavity situated at the entrance to a hollow part. The vestibule of the ear is the cavity of the bony labyrinth that contains the saccule and utricle.

vestibule

views updated May 23 2018

vestibule A chamber that leads to a body cavity or that links one cavity to another. For example, a vestibule leads from the vulva into the vagina in the mammalian reproductive system.

vestibule

views updated May 29 2018

vestibule entrance hall or court XVII; (anat., zool.) XVIII. — F. vestibule or L. vestibulum.