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.
See Examples For:
The risk of relying on one artery for so much trade was underscored after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when the bridge was temporarily closed and trucks idled in a miles-long traffic jam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
A 36-inch artery blew like a ruptured aorta, creating a sinkhole and sending 17 million gallons of water rushing through the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Then the Strait of Hormuz closed and choked off the world’s most important artery.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Peripheral artery disease occurs when narrowed blood vessels reduce circulation to the limbs.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
At Brooklyn Hospital, he was given a drug to break up the clot blocking an artery to his heart.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The latest de-escalation is also yet to trigger a meaningful recovery in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, two critical arteries for global oil trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The community relies heavily on funding from surrounding Lee County to staff law enforcement, repave roads and widen arteries connecting Lehigh Acres to the region, said Cecil Pendergrass, chairman of the board of county commissioners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Thursday’s break was on a riveted steel pipe from 1916 that is part of the system of major arteries that deliver water from reservoirs and tanks to smaller distribution mainlines across Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
New research suggests that lacunar ischemic stroke is not primarily caused by fatty plaque building up inside arteries, as many have assumed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026
Bleached structures from antiquity lay like dried bones, embedded in pulsating cables and thrumming traffic, the arteries of modern life.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
