artery
Americannoun
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Anatomy. a blood vessel that conveys blood from the heart to any part of the body.
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a main channel or highway, especially of a connected system with many branches.
noun
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any of the tubular thick-walled muscular vessels that convey oxygenated blood from the heart to various parts of the body Compare pulmonary artery vein
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a major road or means of communication in any complex system
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of artery
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin artēria, from Greek artēría “windpipe, trachea, artery”; see aorta
Explanation
An artery is a major blood vessel that carries blood away from your heart. For a healthy heart, keep your arteries clean! The word artery comes from the Greek arteria, which means "windpipe." In ancient times, an artery was thought to be a kind of air duct, because after someone dies, their arteries are empty of blood. Today we know that arteries (and veins) perform a vital job, constantly moving blood around our bodies. Systems of rivers or roads with networks and branches that resemble the human circulatory system can also be called arteries.
Vocabulary lists containing artery
"Joyas Voladoras" by Brian Doyle
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Red Kayak
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Human Anatomy and Physiology - Introductory
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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.
Over time, tiny cholesterol carrying particles can become trapped inside artery walls, where they build up into plaques that restrict blood flow and raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
From Science Daily • Jul. 6, 2026
Hormuz is a critical artery for energy trade, with roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption moving through the waterway.
From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026
He said he was fitted with a stent, which is a tube that is inserted into a narrowed or blocked artery to open it and allow blood to flow more freely.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
Nord Stream was a $20 billion artery of steel and concrete, built beneath the Baltic Sea to carry Russian natural gas to Germany.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
In just the few hours since the storm broke, the parched road through our village had become a gushing stream of mud, blood-red, throbbing like an artery.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
