Poop is the solid waste that comes out of your body after your digestive system has extracted the nutrients from the food you eat. When you eat a sandwich, your stomach and intestines break it down, absorbing the proteins, vitamins, and energy your body needs. What's left over, the parts your body can't use, gets pushed through your intestines and eventually comes out as poop.

Different animals produce different kinds of poop. Rabbit droppings are small, dry pellets. Cow manure is wetter and larger. Scientists can learn a lot about an animal's health and diet by studying its poop. Paleontologists even study fossilized dinosaur poop, called coprolites, to understand what dinosaurs ate millions of years ago.

The word poop is informal and mainly used in casual conversation. In medical or scientific contexts, people use terms like feces or stool instead. You might hear a doctor ask about your bowel movements rather than saying poop.

As a verb, to poop means to have a bowel movement. Parents might ask toddlers, “Do you need to poop?” when teaching them to use the toilet.