artery
Americannoun
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arteries
plural
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Anatomy. a blood vessel that conveys blood from the heart to any part of the body.
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a main channel or highway, especially of a connected system with many branches.
noun
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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
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a major road or means of communication in any complex system
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of artery
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin artēria, from Greek artēría “windpipe, trachea, artery”; see aorta
Explanation
An artery is a major blood vessel that carries blood away from your heart. For a healthy heart, keep your arteries clean! The word artery comes from the Greek arteria, which means "windpipe." In ancient times, an artery was thought to be a kind of air duct, because after someone dies, their arteries are empty of blood. Today we know that arteries (and veins) perform a vital job, constantly moving blood around our bodies. Systems of rivers or roads with networks and branches that resemble the human circulatory system can also be called arteries.
Vocabulary lists containing artery
"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Red Kayak
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Rhine, a key artery for many industries in Germany, has fallen to record lows amid soaring summer temperatures and little rainfall, including around a major Thyssenkrupp plant in the western city of Duisburg.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The risk of relying on one artery for so much trade was underscored after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when the bridge was temporarily closed and trucks idled in a miles-long traffic jam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
A 36-inch artery blew like a ruptured aorta, creating a sinkhole and sending 17 million gallons of water rushing through the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Previous research has also linked P. gingivalis to widespread inflammation throughout the body and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including artery plaque buildup and coronary artery disease.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
I had been sensible of its pulses spreading throughout my arms, across my chest like the ramifying systems of artery or nerve.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Major arteries for trade and agriculture across the continent—including the Rhine, Danube and Po—are now at record low levels, disrupting freight transportation, forcing nuclear power plants to shut reactors and eroding agricultural productivity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
A stent is a small wire tube that can be inserted into coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, if they have become narrowed or blocked.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
He said the attacks are “a systematic threat to the arteries of the world’s energy supply and to the safety of those who keep them flowing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Thursday’s fracture was on a steel pipe that forms the major arteries for water delivery from reservoirs and tanks to smaller distribution lines across Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Bleached structures from antiquity lay like dried bones, embedded in pulsating cables and thrumming traffic, the arteries of modern life.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
