arterial

[ ahr-teer-ee-uhl ]

/ ɑrˈtɪər i əl /

Save This Word!

adjective

Physiology. pertaining to the blood in the pulmonary vein, in the left side of the heart, and in most arteries, having been oxygenated during its passage through the lungs and being normally bright red.

Anatomy. of, relating to, or resembling the arteries.

being or constituting a main route, channel, or other course of flow or access, often with many branches: an arterial highway; an arterial drainage system.

noun

a main route, channel, or other course of flow or access: funds to resurface the main arterials of the city.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of arterial

1375–1425; late Middle English (<Middle French ) <Medieval Latin artēriālis.See artery, -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM arterial

ar·te·ri·al·ly, adverbnon·ar·te·ri·al, adjectivepost·ar·te·ri·al, adjective

Words nearby arterial

artemisia, Artemovsk, Arte Povera, arteri-, arteria, arterial, arterial blood, arterial canal, arterial capillary, arterial cone, arterial duct

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use arterial in a sentence

Many highways appeared to be plowed and pretreated, but snow was piling up on major arterials and side roads, according to traffic cameras.
After 2 to 4 inches of snow, an icy night ahead in D.C. area. Snow showers possible Monday.|Jason Samenow, Dan Stillman, Andrew Freedman|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Many highways in the Washington area were plowed and pretreated, but traffic cameras showed snow piled up on some major arterials and side roads.
D.C. area’s biggest snowstorm in two years brings slick roads, but much-needed respite|Katherine Shaver, Emily Davies, Lauren Lumpkin|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
Over time, the theory goes, inflammation causes trouble—plaques and less pliable arterial walls.
Maybe You Shouldn't Run a Marathon|Kent Sepkowitz|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Heavy lacerations, arterial bleeding, left leg and left arm.
Friends on the Line: Excerpt from Brian Mockenhaupt’s “The Living and the Dead”|Brian Mockenhaupt|November 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

By respiration the black venous blood is transformed into red arterial blood and regenerated.
Urania|Camille Flammarion
He knew, also, that the pulmonary veins conducted arterial blood, and that the pericardium was a shut sac.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine|Roswell Park
In 1687 Cowper saw the passage of the arterial into the venous current in the mesentery of a cat.
An Epitome of the History of Medicine|Roswell Park
A sample of the dog's arterial blood contained ten per cent of acetylene.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
The heart has a pair of venous ostia, often blending into one, and an anterior arterial aorta.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6|Various

British Dictionary definitions for arterial

arterial

/ (ɑːˈtɪərɪəl) /

adjective

of, relating to, or affecting an artery or arteriesarterial disease

denoting or relating to the usually bright red reoxygenated blood returning from the lungs or gills that circulates in the arteries

being a major route, esp one with many minor branchesan arterial road

Derived forms of arterial

arterially, 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

Medical definitions for arterial

arterial

[ är-tîr′ē-əl ]

adj.

Of or relating to one or more arteries or to the entire system of arteries.

Of, relating to, or being the bright red oxygenated blood in the arteries.

Other words from arterial

ar•te′ri•al•ly adv.