capillary

American  

[kap-uh-ler-ee] / ˈkæp əˌlɛr i /

adjective

1. pertaining to or occurring in or as if in a tube of fine bore.

2. resembling a strand of hair; hairlike.

3. Physics.

   1. pertaining to capillarity.

   2. of or relating to the apparent attraction or repulsion between a liquid and a solid, observed in capillarity.

4. Anatomy. pertaining to a capillary or capillaries.

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noun

plural

capillaries

1. Anatomy. one of the minute blood vessels between the terminations of the arteries and the beginnings of the veins.

2. Also called capillary tube.  a tube with a small bore.

capillary British  

/ kəˈpɪlərɪ /

adjective

1. resembling a hair; slender

2. (of tubes) having a fine bore

3. anatomy of or relating to any of the delicate thin-walled blood vessels that form an interconnecting network between the arterioles and the venules

4. physics of or relating to capillarity

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noun

1. anatomy any of the capillary blood vessels

2. a fine hole or narrow passage in any substance

capillary Scientific  

/ kăp′ə-lĕr′ē /

1. Any of the tiny blood vessels that connect the smallest arteries (arterioles) to the smallest veins (venules). Capillaries form a network throughout the body for the exchange of oxygen, metabolic waste products, and carbon dioxide between blood and tissue cells.

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capillary Cultural  

1. A thin tube, such as a blood vessel or a straw, through which fluids flow.

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Discover More

The interaction between the fluid and the vessel walls produces a force that can lift the fluid up into the tube, a phenomenon known as capillary action.

Other Word Forms

• intercapillary adjective
• noncapillary adjective

Etymology

Origin of capillary

1570–80; capill ( ar ) (obsolete, < Latin capillāris pertaining to hair, equivalent to capill ( us ) hair + -āris -ar ¹ ) + -ary

Example Sentences

“It’s searing pain from all the lactic acid. It floods your system. You blow capillaries in your eyes, you throw up after races,” said Cheek, now an NBC analyst.

From The Wall Street Journal

If done properly, it's unlikely to cause you any harm, but Tina warns that "too much pressure can cause bruising or broken capillaries, so be gentle".

From BBC

Their kidneys retained denser networks of capillaries, stronger filtration barriers, and more stable energy production within cells.

From Science Daily

That pressure prevents cancer medications from flowing through capillaries to hair follicles and nerves in the hands and feet, Hannon said.

From The Wall Street Journal

By demonstrating that metformin can limit changes in both major arteries and small capillaries across different exercise intensities, the researchers highlight how complex these combined treatments can be.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• hair
• lode
• nerve
• seam
• stripe