Definition of 'artery'

Word Frequency

artery

(ɑːʳtəri )

Word forms: plural arteries

1. countable noun

Arteries are the tubes in your body that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Compare vein.

...patients suffering from blocked arteries.

Synonyms: vein, blood vessel More Synonyms of artery

2. countable noun

You can refer to an important main route within a complex road, railway, or river system as an artery.

Clarence Street was one of the north-bound arteries of the central business district.

...the point where the Ohio River, itself a great artery, joins the Mississippi.

Synonyms: route, way, course, round More Synonyms of artery

Video: pronunciation of 'artery'

Word Frequency

artery in British

(ˈɑːtərɪ )

noun plural -teries

any of the tubular thick-walled muscular vessels that convey oxygenated blood from the heart to various parts of the body

Compare pulmonary artery, vein

a major road or means of communication in any complex system

Word origin of 'artery'

C14: from Latin artēria, related to Greek aortē the great artery, aorta

Word Frequency

artery in American

(ˈɑrtəri ; ärtˈərē)

nounWord forms: plural ˈarteries

any one of the system of thick-walled blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart

Example sentences containing 'artery'

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She suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a blocked heart artery. The Sun (2016)But the cancer had wrapped around one of his main arteries, making it impossible to remove. The Sun (2016)Not hitting a main artery? Times, Sunday Times (2016)The mile after mile of static car parks on the country's main arteries cause heart attacks for the economy and drivers alike. Times, Sunday Times (2016)It is then fed back up the main artery of the body to the heart. Wallace, Louise M & Bundy, Christine Coping with Angina (1990)Too much animal fat may lead to artery and heart problems. Munro, Bill Dr. & Munro, Frances Beat Stress (1992)Yet the backroom staff are the blood in the arteries of the system. Times, Sunday Times (2009)These antioxidants appear to help to keep arteries elastic and blood flowing well. Times, Sunday Times (2009)They told him a main artery had been missed by inches. The Sun (2014)Blood flows from the heart to the periphery of the body in arteries. Shreeve, Caroline (Dr.) How to Lower High Blood Pressure (1994)These coronary arteries feed the heart muscle. Mervyn, Leonard Preventing Heart Disease (1987)The shrapnel which had hit his leg was less than two inches from a major artery. The Sun (2008)The blood in arteries is under high pressure. Petch, Dr Michael BMA Family Doctor Guide - Heart Disease (1989)Another inch and the sharp pencil could have punctured one of his main arteries. The Sun (2009)These arteries supply the heart muscles with blood. Times, Sunday Times (2011)The pellets missed major arteries by millimetres. The Sun (2014)Large deposits can block an artery so blood cannot flow. Times, Sunday Times (2006)Tests showed narrowing of the arteries caused a heart attack. The Sun (2012)One medic noticed a bruise on her neck near a major artery. The Sun (2014)But at the same time it causes the arteries that carry blood to the heart to close. The Sun (2010)Does it only help clogged arteries in the heart? The Sun (2013)Unlike sheep, these arteries are important suppliers of blood to the conscious part of the brain. Times, Sunday Times (2012)This road is one of the country's main arteries. Times, Sunday Times (2007)Secondly, certain other patients have a narrowing of a particularly important coronary artery or combination of coronary arteries. Wallace, Louise M & Bundy, Christine Coping with Angina (1990)It seems to make sense that thin blood slides through the narrowed and blocked arteries of the body more easily than so-called thick blood. Pantano, James A. (MD) Living with Angina (1991)Some of them continued to be important arteries up to the time of the Civil War and well beyond. Divine, Robert A. (editor) & Breen, T. H & Frederickson, George M & Williams, R. Hal America Past and Present (1995)America's transportation arteries are so important to the economy that either road or rail industries have stood atop the pinnacle of business production over the past century. Goddard, Stephen B. Getting There: The Epic Struggle between Road and Rail in the American Century (1994)