surgical

[ sur-ji-kuhl ]

adjective
  1. pertaining to or involving surgery or surgeons.

  2. used in surgery.

  1. characterized by extreme precision or incisiveness: a surgical air strike against enemy targets.

Origin of surgical

1
First recorded in 1760–70; surg(eon) + -ical

Other words from surgical

  • sur·gi·cal·ly, adverb
  • non·sur·gi·cal, adjective
  • non·sur·gi·cal·ly, adverb
  • post·sur·gi·cal, adjective
  • pre·sur·gi·cal, adjective
  • pro·sur·gi·cal, adjective
  • un·sur·gi·cal, adjective
  • un·sur·gi·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use surgical in a sentence

  • An instant later he experienced one of those sudden deaths which have made this city popularly famous and surgically interesting.

  • Steele attempted to deal with this extraordinary lesion surgically, but the child died a few hours later.

  • The syringe should be sterile and, needless to say, the site of injections must be surgically clean.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
  • If infection results because of a compound fracture, loose pieces of bone must be removed surgically and drainage provided for.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
  • The auricle and surrounding parts should also be surgically cleansed, and afterwards protected by a simple aseptic compress.

British Dictionary definitions for surgical

surgical

/ (ˈsɜːdʒɪkəl) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, involving, or used in surgery

  2. (of an action) performed with extreme precision: a surgical air attack on the missile complex

Derived forms of surgical

  • surgically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012