catheter

American  

[kath-i-ter] / ˈkæθ ɪ tər /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

• catheters
  plural

1. a flexible or rigid hollow tube employed to drain fluids from body cavities or to distend body passages, especially one for passing into the bladder through the urethra to draw off urine or into the heart through a leg vein or arm vein for diagnostic examination.

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catheter British  

/ ˈkæθɪtə /

noun

1. med a long slender flexible tube for inserting into a natural bodily cavity or passage for introducing or withdrawing fluid, such as urine or blood

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catheter Scientific  

/ kăth′ĭ-tər /

1. A hollow, flexible tube inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel to allow the passage of fluids or distend a passageway.

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catheter Cultural  

1. A thin tube inserted into one of the channels or blood vessels in the body to remove fluids, create an opening into an internal cavity, or administer injections.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• catheters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of catheter

1595–1605; < Late Latin < Greek kathetḗr kind of tube, literally, something sent or let down, equivalent to kathe- (variant stem of kathiénai, equivalent to kat- cata- + hiénai to send, let go) + -tḗr agent suffix

Compare meaning

How does catheter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cannula vs. catheter

Explanation

A catheter is a thin, flexible tube that's inserted into the body to draw liquids out or keep a pathway open. It’s the kind of thing you’d get in the hospital. The word catheter is from the Greek kathienai which means, "thrust in or let down." That’s what happens when that small tube goes into your body and lets fluid out. If you have surgery in the belly area, you’ll probably need a catheter to drain the urine until you can go to the bathroom by yourself again. A catheter can also be inserted into other organs, like through a blood vessel and into the heart, to see what's going on.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catheter catheters

Why are the people inserting the catheter wearing white coats?

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

"For those seven months that I spent with a catheter, no-one suspected I could have endometriosis, so I wouldn't have been referred for any of these tests," she says.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Using X-ray imaging and contrast dye for guidance, doctors advance a tiny catheter through the femoral artery until it reaches the genicular arteries around the knee.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

On July 22, 1992, Chris delivered the small bag of cells, infused into my bloodstream through a catheter in my chest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

The catheter bag, connected to the tube inside him and filled with greenish waste fluid, lay by my foot near the leg of his chair.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

ICE catheters provide real-time, high-resolution imaging of the heart during electrophysiology procedures, according to Medtronic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

The prices of other Karex products, from personal lubricants and probe covers to catheters and aluminium foil packaging, have also increased, Goh said.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

Some microbes could spread across medical catheters, implants, or hospital equipment through swashing.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2026

The risk of infection is especially high for patients with catheters, breathing tubes or feeding tubes because they create direct entry points for C. auris to enter the bloodstream or lungs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025

The nurses work rapidly to detach the monitors and catheters and run another tube down my throat.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman