intravenous
Americanadjective
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within a vein.
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of, pertaining to, employed in, or administered by injection into a vein.
an intravenous solution.
noun
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an intravenous injection.
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intravenous feeding. IV
adjective
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Existing or occurring within a vein.
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Administered into a vein, as an injection.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intravenous
Explanation
If you're severely dehydrated, your nurse will rig up an intravenous drip to get liquid into you: she'll skip your mouth and plug directly into your veins. Intravenous can be broken down to intra-, meaning "within" or "via," and venous, meaning "of the veins." Often in hospitals you will be given water or nutrients from intravenous drips — you've surely seen these on TV if not at the hospital: plastic bags of liquid connected to a tube going into someone's arm. It's a way to get needed stuff into your body without waiting for the digestive system to handle it.
Vocabulary lists containing intravenous
National Nurses Week: Common Medical Terms
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Z for Zachariah
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Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam
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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.
Since 2015, NHS patients have received the world's best-selling drug through a drip – or intravenous infusion – which can take more than an hour to administer in hospital.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
Specifically, Kelonia is developing intravenous “in vivo” cell therapies—next-generation genetic medicines that reprogram white blood cells directly inside the body.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
Children with this condition often depend on long-term intravenous feeding through a pump.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026
Future studies will test whether the compound remains effective when patients are also receiving intravenous nutrition, which can place additional stress on the liver.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026
“Those won’t help, not now. No, there’s no medicine. In a hospital they give transfusions and intravenous nutrients.”I can’t do that, of course.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
