The uvula is a little piece of flesh hanging down inside the mouth at the back of the palate, where it meets the throat. The word is derived from the Latin for "grape". The uvula plays an important role in the creation of the sound of the human voice. It functions in tandem with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs to create a number of guttural and other sounds.

Consonants pronounced with the uvula do not appear in English; however, languages such as French, Arabic, Hebrew and Ubykh use uvular consonants to varying degrees. Certain languages in Africa also use the uvula to produce click consonants.

The uvula also contributes to snoring or heavy breathing during sleep; having an elongated uvula can cause vibrations which lead to the snoring. In some cases this can lead to sleep apnea, which may be treated by removal of the uvula or part of the uvula if necessary. Splitting of the uvula occurs infrequently but is the most common form of mouth and nose area cleavage among newborns (roughly 2% of infants have this bifid or split uvula).

Today, the uvula is one of many body parts that people pierce. However, uvula piercings are very dangerous unless done by an expert, and only a small number of people have had this procedure.

Cartoons often feature the uvula when characters yawn or open their mouth wide. Screaming animations often show the uvula in a wiggling motion. Some cartoons have the uvula serve as a punching bag for a humorous effect.

It is often confused with the epiglottis which is a flap of skin covering the windpipe during swallowing.