1. of or relating to the epiglottis, the flap of tissue that covers the windpipe during swallowing
Usage: technical; anatomy
2. in phonetics, articulated with the epiglottis as the primary place of articulation
Usage: linguistics; rare

Examples

• The epiglottal reflex protects the airway from food and liquid during swallowing.
• Damage to epiglottal tissue can affect normal swallowing function.
• Some languages use epiglottal consonants in their phonetic inventory.
• The doctor examined the patient's epiglottal region during the laryngoscopy.
• Epiglottal sounds are relatively uncommon in world languages.