1. Of, relating to, or near the anus.
2. Psychology.
   1. Of or relating to the second stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, roughly from ages one to three, during which gratification is derived from sensations associated with the anus and defecation. The anal stage is preceded by the oral stage and followed by the phallic stage.
   2. Indicating personality traits that originated during toilet training and are distinguished as anal-expulsive or anal-retentive.

[From Latin ānus, anus.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.