Heimlich maneuver

American  

[hahym-lik] / ˈhaɪm lɪk /

noun

1. an emergency rescue procedure for application to someone choking on a foreign object, in which the rescuer places a fist between the victim's lower ribs or upper abdomen from behind and exerts sudden pressure in the form of thrusts of sufficient force to help eject the object from the windpipe.

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Etymology

Origin of Heimlich maneuver

An Americanism first recorded in 1970–75; named after H. J. Heimlich (1920–2016), U.S. physician, who devised it

Example Sentences

Performing abdominal thrusts or the Heimlich maneuver can force the item out of the body.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2024

He performed the Heimlich maneuver on the woman, twice thrusting his fists into her abdomen before whatever was choking her dislodged.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2023

Perhaps most famously, he publicized the Heimlich maneuver, the lifesaving procedure developed by Dr. Henry J. Heimlich in the 1970s that employs a bear hug and abdominal thrusts to clear food lodged in the throat.

From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2023

A hero firefighter leaped into action and performed a Heimlich maneuver on a choking fan at a baseball game Wednesday night at Nationals Park.

From Washington Times • May 25, 2023

I felt like I’d just gotten the Heimlich maneuver from a gorilla.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan