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artery

American  
[ahr-tuh-ree] / ˈɑr tə ri /

noun

plural

arteries

  1. Anatomy. a blood vessel that conveys blood from the heart to any part of the body.

  2. a main channel or highway, especially of a connected system with many branches.

artery British  
/ ˈɑːtərɪ /

noun

  1. 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

  2. a major road or means of communication in any complex system

"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
artery Scientific  
/ är′tə-rē /

  1. Any of the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Arteries are flexible, elastic tubes with muscular walls that expand and contract to pump blood through the body.

Etymology

Origin of artery

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin artēria, from Greek artēría “windpipe, trachea, artery”; aorta

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.

Traffic across King Fahd Bridge, a major artery connecting Saudi Arabia and the island nation of Bahrain, was temporarily closed as a precaution, authorities said, following the issuance of security alerts in the area.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

On one channel, the war is a high-stakes effort to stabilize a critical artery of the global economy.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026

Increasingly, people are opting, too, for a simple, relatively affordable test: a coronary artery calcium scan, or CAC.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

“The U.S. stepping back from physically reopening the artery means the market now has to price a world where the blockage lingers, but the war premium fades at the margin,” Innes said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

I’ll speed up Flatbush Avenue—the artery of fat Brooklyn—right to the Brooklyn entrance of the bridge, with the potholes and cops stationed all night.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

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.