angina
Americannoun
-
any attack of painful spasms characterized by sensations of choking or suffocating.
-
any disease of the throat or fauces.
noun
-
any disease marked by painful attacks of spasmodic choking, such as Vincent's angina and quinsy
-
Also called: angina pectoris. a sudden intense pain in the chest, often accompanied by feelings of suffocation, caused by momentary lack of adequate blood supply to the heart muscle
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of angina
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “quinsy,” from ancina (unrecorded), from Greek anchónē, “strangulation, hanging,” influenced by Latin ang(ere) “to throttle” ( see anxious)
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.
But, even for seasoned investors, the rules around donating crypto can still be confusing — and a few small mistakes can cost cause angina at tax time.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 5, 2025
She now lives with skin cancer, Parkinson's disease, and angina, a condition stemming from poor blood flow to the heart, which typically manifests as chest pain.
From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025
The best of these was perhexiline maleate, an older drug used to treat the heart condition called angina.
From Science Daily • Dec. 27, 2023
Doctors had been prescribing nitroglycerin for angina and other heart ailments for over a century — including, coincidentally, to Alfred Nobel, who founded the Nobel Prizes.
From New York Times • Sep. 6, 2023
All you need is the evidence of the ECG, blood pressure, fluid in the lungs, and unstable angina.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
