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Synonyms

blood vessel

American  

noun

  1. any of the vessels, as arteries, veins, or capillaries, through which the blood circulates.

blood vessel British  

noun

  1. an artery, capillary, or vein

"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
blood vessel Scientific  

  1. An elastic tube or passage in the body through which blood circulates; an artery, a vein, or a capillary.

Etymology

Origin of blood vessel

First recorded in 1685–95

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.

It found the death rate increased among patients who had severe heart attacks, which refers to when a blood vessel that feeds the heart is completely blocked.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

This finding supports the view that declining blood vessel health in the brain is part of the broader Alzheimer's disease continuum.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

The texture of the crest and the network of blood vessel channels inside it indicate that it was covered in keratin, the same material found in human fingernails.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

This happens when a nearby blood vessel presses on part of the nerve inside the skull.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

Of course they could not know that my mother had died three months before, suddenly, when a blood vessel in her brain burst.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

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.