embolism
Americannoun
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Pathology. the occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus.
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intercalation, as of a day in a year.
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a period of time intercalated.
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(in a Eucharistic service) the prayer following the final petitions of the Lord's Prayer.
noun
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the occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus
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botany the blocking of a xylem vessel by an air bubble
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the insertion of one or more days into a calendar, esp the Jewish calendar; intercalation
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RC Church a prayer inserted in the canon of the Mass between the Lord's Prayer and the breaking of the bread
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another name (not in technical use) for embolus
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A mass, such as an air bubble, detached blood clot, or foreign body, that travels in the bloodstream, lodges in a blood vessel, and obstructs or occludes it.
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Also called embolus
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The obstruction or occlusion of a blood vessel by such a mass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of embolism
1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin embolismus intercalation < Late Greek embolismós, equivalent to embol- ( see embolus) + -ismos -ism
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.
See Examples For:
Partaking in them is not without risk—ozone therapy, for example, has the potential side effect of something called an air embolism, which can lead to a stroke or heart attack.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
She died the next day of respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Award-winning actress Catherine O'Hara died of a pulmonary embolism, her death certificate has revealed.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026
Penumbra’s portfolio includes devices to treat conditions like pulmonary embolism, stroke, deep vein aneurysms, and heart attack.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
On the other hand, it could have been an embolism, because your blood clots much more easily when you are lying down for a long time, like when you are in hospital.
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
There are AI competitors like AIdoc, which started with pulmonary embolisms, and OpenEvidence, which doctors use to help diagnose diseases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Dr Lee has accused the prosecution of misinterpreting his research and he has since published an update discounting a link between marks on the skin and air embolisms.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2025
However, in recent years, he had missed shows while experiencing various health issues, including pulmonary embolisms in 2022, which he said almost killed him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2024
For many patients who undergo butt lifts and related procedures, complications like blood clots or embolisms, which can be fatal, are a bigger concern than the cartels.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
Moreover, the same principle has wide application in case of the human subject in disease, such as the lesion of nerve tracts or the destruction of centres by localized tumors, by embolisms, or by traumatisms.
From A History of Science — Volume 4 by Williams, Henry Smith
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.
