surgery

American  

[sur-juh-ree] / ˈsɜr dʒə ri /

noun

surgeries plural

1. the art, practice, or work of treating diseases, injuries, or deformities by manual or operative procedures.

2. the branch of medicine concerned with such treatment.

3. treatment, as an operation, performed by a surgeon.

4. a room or place for surgical operations.

5. British. a doctor's or dentist's office or office hours.

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surgery British  

/ ˈsɜːdʒərɪ /

noun

1. the branch of medicine concerned with treating disease, injuries, etc, by means of manual or operative procedures, esp by incision into the body

2. the performance of such procedures by a surgeon

3. a place where a doctor, dentist, etc, can be consulted

4. an occasion when an MP, lawyer, etc, is available for consultation

5. an operating theatre where surgical operations are performed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• presurgery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• surgeries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of surgery

1250–1300; Middle English surgerie < Old French cirurgerie chirurgery

Explanation

Surgery is a medical procedure, usually involving an incision and instruments. A surgery is done to fix or prevent a health problem. There are a lot of kinds of surgery in the world. Some are very serious, like brain surgery and heart surgery. Others are minor, like getting your appendix removed. In most cases, you'll be unconscious for surgery, to make it easier for the surgeon to get the job done. You can also call the room where surgeries are done a surgery, and talk about the field of surgery.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surgery surgeries

"The cancer was removed, but the surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public," she said in a heartfelt statement.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Some in Hollywood described AI use as the new cosmetic surgery, where everyone knows it is happening, but few will admit to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Finally, the Daily Star features actress Tracy Shaw sharing an update on her breast cancer diagnosis, saying surgery is not an option for her.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Biliary atresia is the leading cause of pediatric liver transplants and currently has no approved therapeutic options beyond surgery or liver transplant, Ipsen said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Does Peter know about the concussions, or just that brain surgery is next?”

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

After three replacement surgeries, she said, "I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process."

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

A fundraising page has raised £105,000 for the boy and his family after the three-year-old was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital, where he has undergone seven surgeries.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Following multiple surgeries and serious complications,” L7 said, “Jennifer now requires extensive medical care, rehabilitation and professional in-home support.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Over the next month, he underwent three surgeries, including for an infection and facial reconstruction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Worse than surgeries, or infections, or waking up on a bad morning barely able to breathe.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott