biopsy
Americannoun
-
the removal for diagnostic study of a piece of tissue from a living body.
-
a specimen obtained from a biopsy.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
examination, esp under a microscope, of tissue from a living body to determine the cause or extent of a disease
-
the sample taken for such an examination
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of biopsy
Explanation
A biopsy is a sample of tissue or liquid from the body that helps determine if you have a disease. If your doctor finds a lump in part of your body, she will probably do a biopsy to see if it is cancerous or not. Bios means "life" and opsis means "see" or "sight," so a biopsy is a way for a doctor to look into your body, so to speak, by taking a sample of it. There are different kinds of biopsies, depending on where the tissue is that your doctor needs to look at. You might have a surgical biopsy or a less invasive biopsy by needle.
Vocabulary lists containing biopsy
Words to Live By: Bio
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Common Senses: Op, Ops, Opt ("Sight")
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National Nurses Week: Common Medical Terms
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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.
After ruling out more serious autoimmune conditions, my new dermatologist did a scalp biopsy and finally diagnosed me with fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution, or FAPD, in which inflammation damages hair follicles via scarring.
From Slate • May 23, 2026
But Rosie got sicker and a biopsy showed in 2024 that she did have terminal cancer.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
After a week getting steroids and pain medicine at Providence St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, he received the biopsy results: an extremely aggressive malignant mass was blocking blood flow to Duong’s optic nerve.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Unlike many liquid biopsy methods that search for specific cancer related gene mutations, the fragmentome approach focuses on how DNA fragments are cut, packaged and distributed throughout the genome.
From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026
According to Howard Jones, Henrietta got the same care any white patient would have; the biopsy, the radium treatment, and radiation were all standard for the day.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
