artery
Americannoun
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arteries
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
Notably, the relationship between earlier fitness and later artery health remained significant even after accounting for several established cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity, smoking, and blood pressure.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
During the procedure, an interventional radiologist inserts a thin catheter into an artery and carefully guides it toward the affected blood vessels.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Before the war, the strait—a critical artery for global energy markets—used to carry around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Although mostly single carriageway with few overtaking lanes, it is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network and has more than 200 side roads connecting to it.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 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
The technique is called superselective embolization because doctors target specific small arteries rather than blocking circulation throughout the joint.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
A heart attack is when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The bridge is one of the main transport arteries across the Dnipro River dividing western and eastern parts of Kyiv.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Plaque may continue accumulating inside the arteries without producing any obvious warning signs.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
The bony ribs of the wing stood out as high as a hill, and the arteries and veins gleamed like wires of fine-spun ruby and turquoise pressed into a thin sheet of jade.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
