organ

organ — noun

1. a working part in a living thing, like a heart, lung, or leaf, that has its own

1.nounC1
Definition

a working part in a living thing, like a heart, lung, or leaf, that has its own function

Example

Doctors checked the baby's heart, lungs, and other organs after birth.

medical collocation: other organs

Too much alcohol can slowly damage a person's liver and other organs.

collocation: damage an organ

Common collocations
  • vital organ
  • internal organ
  • organ damage
  • donor organ
Synonyms
  • body part

    a broader everyday term that can also include simpler parts such as bones or skin

  • structure

    a general scientific word that does not always suggest a special function

  • gland

    a specific kind of organ that makes and releases substances

  • tissue

    smaller than an organ and made of similar cells

Grammar Patterns

a vital organ

damage an organ

a donor organ

Usage Note

Often used in science or medicine. Common examples include the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys; in plant study, leaves and roots may also be described as organs.

Common Mistakes

The skin is an organism.
The skin is an organ.
An organism is a whole living thing, while an organ is one part of it.

2. a keyboard instrument that makes music through pipes or electronic sound, someti

2.nounC2
Definition

a keyboard instrument that makes music through pipes or electronic sound, sometimes played with both hands and feet

Example

Mia practiced the organ alone in the church before the wedding.

collocation: practice the organ

The old organ filled the hall with a deep, powerful sound.

Common collocations
  • play the organ
  • church organ
  • organ music
  • electronic organ
Synonyms
  • pipe organ

    the large traditional form with pipes and air

  • electronic organ

    a modern version that creates similar sounds electronically

  • keyboard

    a broader term for instruments played on keys

  • piano

    another keyboard instrument, but its sound comes from struck strings

Grammar Patterns

play the organ

church organ

electronic organ

Usage Note

Often appears in church, concert, and music-school contexts. Pipe organ usually names the large version with real pipes; electronic organ names the keyboard version that creates the sound electronically.

Common Mistakes

He learned the organ piano at church.
He learned the organ at church.
Organ is the instrument name by itself; piano is a different instrument.

3. a paper, magazine, or media outlet that speaks for a group and mainly presents t

3.nounC2
Definition

a paper, magazine, or media outlet that speaks for a group and mainly presents that group's views

Example

The miners' paper served as an organ of the labor movement.

pattern: an organ of [group]

For years, the teachers' magazine was the union's only organ.

Common collocations
  • official organ
  • party organ
  • organ of the union
  • organ of the ruling party
Synonyms
  • mouthpiece

    often more critical, suggesting blind support for a group

  • house journal

    a publication produced for or by one organization, often less political

  • newsletter

    can simply share information and does not always push one viewpoint

  • publication

    a neutral broad term without the idea of speaking for a group

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

an organ of the party

official organ

serve as an organ of

Usage Note

Usually followed by of when naming the group it represents, as in an organ of the party. This use is formal and especially common in political or historical discussion.

Common Mistakes

The paper is an organ about the party.
The paper is an organ of the party.
This sense normally uses of to name the group it speaks for.

4. a formal body inside a larger system that is created to deal with one kind of wo

4.nounC2
Definition

a formal body inside a larger system that is created to deal with one kind of work

Example

Under the constitution, the supreme court is an organ of the state.

pattern: an organ of the state

The health ministry acts as the state's main organ for disease control.

Common collocations
  • organ of the state
  • executive organ
  • judicial organ
  • organ within government
Synonyms
  • body

    a common formal word for an official group or unit

  • agency

    often used for a government office with a defined task

  • institution

    broader and can refer to a whole established system

  • department

    often one named section inside a larger organization

Grammar Patterns

an organ of the state

create an organ

organ within government

Usage Note

Usually followed by of when naming the larger institution, especially in legal or political writing. Distinguish from sense 3 GROUP'S VOICE: this sense names a working unit, not a newspaper or broadcaster.

Common Mistakes

The court is an organ in justice.
The court is an organ of the state.
This formal sense normally links the body to the larger system with of.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Organ is the most exact word when one part of a living body has its own special job, such as the heart, lungs, or liver. Body part is broader and more everyday; it can refer to a finger, the skin, or the back, not only major working systems inside the body. Tissue is smaller in scale, because an organ is made of tissues. Gland is narrower: it means an organ that makes and releases substances like hormones. Limb refers only to an arm or leg, so it does not overlap with most internal organs. Say The doctor found a problem in one organ, but My shoulder hurts names a body part, not usually an organ.

organ ↗body parttissue ↗glandlimb ↗

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Organ came into English through French and Latin from Greek organon, a word meaning a tool or instrument. That older idea of something used to do a job helps explain the later senses: a body organ does a special job in a living thing, and an official organ carries out work for a larger body.