Definition of "villi" []

• Plural of villus. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We have learned in Section 144 that the mucous lining of the small intestines is crowded with millions of little appendages called villi, meaning "tufts of hair.""
• "The human bowel is lined with millions of projections called villi that facilitate the efficient absorption of nutrients."
• "Its lining is made up of millions of leaflike structures called villi, which in turn are covered with millions of microvilli."