incision

American  

[in-sizh-uhn] / ɪnˈsɪʒ ən /

noun

• incisions
  plural

1. a cut, gash, or notch.

2. the act of incising.

3. a cutting into, especially for surgical purposes.

4. incisiveness; keenness.

---

incision British  

/ ɪnˈsɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of incising

2. a cut, gash, or notch

3. a cut made with a knife during a surgical operation

4. any indentation in an incised leaf

5. rare incisiveness

---

Usage

What does incision mean? An incision is a cut made into the body during surgery. Traditionally, incisions are made with surgical instruments like scalpels. However, they can also be made with lasers or robotic tools. Sometimes, incision refers to the scar resulting from such a cut. Incision is the noun form of the verb incise, meaning to cut into. The noun form incision is more commonly used. More generally, incision can refer to any cut or gash, but it is primarily used to refer to surgical incisions. Example: The surgeon explained that she would need to make three small incisions in my abdomen in order to remove my appendix.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• incisions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of incision

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin incīsiōn- (stem of incīsiō ). See incise, -ion

Explanation

An incision is a surgical cut. A doctor uses a scalpel to make an incision in a patient's skin. An incision usually refers to a cut that's made during surgery, like an abdominal incision made by a surgeon during a gall bladder operation. A decorative or artistic cut can also be called an incision, such as a cut in carved wood or marble. Incision can also describe the power of sharp observation, like the incision of your friend who can always tell when you're upset, even when you try to hide it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incision incisions

Other options include a “J-incision aortic valve replacement” that he developed involving an incision of about 3 inches in the breastbone.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

"The staff saw fluid coming out the incision hole at the top of my bum where the implant was put in," she added.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026

“I feel a lot better now,” said Scott, who hadn’t pitched in the playoffs before having an abscess incision on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025

But when the bandage came off a few weeks later, Jodee saw two scars instead of one on the inside of her child's leg when they had been told it would be just one incision.

From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2024

That morning, Dr. Agnew had enlarged the incision on Garfield's back, taken out pieces of bone, and inserted two drainage tubes.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

More surgical options have emerged too, such as smaller incisions in the chest, or a robotic surgery that involves a smaller incision on a person’s side near the armpit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Fish emerge with a hole in the head and incisions near the gills before being placed in an ice slurry for blood drainage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2025

Searching for fragments manually can be dangerous and requires bigger incisions that can cause more bleeding – "so to be able just to simply find them using a magnet is ingenious."

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2025

Davis did not explain that a D&C involved no incisions, just suction, according to Hope, or tell them that it would stop the bleeding faster.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024

Through bleary eyes, Tally saw that it was a 3-D copy of the note, perfect down to the slight incisions of Shay’s labored penmanship on the paper.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• laceration