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cautery

[ kaw-tuh-ree ]
/ ˈkɔ tə ri /

noun, plural cau·ter·ies.

an escharotic substance, electric current, or hot iron used to destroy tissue.
the process of destroying tissue with a cautery.

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Origin of cautery

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin cautērium<Greek kautḗrion, equivalent to kautḗr branding iron (see cauterize) + -ion diminutive suffix

Words nearby cautery

caustic potash, caustic soda, caustic surface, cauterant, cauterize, cautery, caution, cautionary, caution money, cautious, Cauvery
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for cautery

British Dictionary definitions for cautery

cautery
/ (ˈkɔːtərɪ) /

noun plural -teries

the coagulation of blood or destruction of body tissue by cauterizing
Also called: cauterant an instrument or chemical agent for cauterizing

Word Origin for cautery

C14: from Old French cautère, from Latin cautērium; see cauterize
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

Medical definitions for cautery

cautery
[ kô′tə-rē ]

n.

An agent or instrument used to destroy tissue by burning, searing, cutting, or scarring, including caustic substances, electric currents, and lasers.
The act or process of cauterizing.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for cautery

cautery
[ kô′tə-rē ]

An agent or instrument used to destroy tissue, as in surgery, by burning, searing, cutting, or scarring, including caustic substances, electric currents, and lasers.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.