hemorrhoid

American  

[hem-uh-roid, hem-roid] / ˈhɛm əˌrɔɪd, ˈhɛm rɔɪd /

noun

hemorrhoids plural

1. Pathology. Usually hemorrhoids an abnormally enlarged vein mainly due to a persistent increase in venous pressure, occurring inside the anal sphincter of the rectum and beneath the mucous membrane internal hemorrhoid or outside the anal sphincter and beneath the surface of the anal skin external hemorrhoid.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hemorrhoidal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hemorrhoids
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hemorrhoid

1350–1400; Middle English emoroides (plural) < Latin haemorrhoid ( a ) < Greek haimorroḯda (adj.) discharging blood

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hemorrhoid hemorrhoids

Interestingly, the study did not find a connection between straining during bowel movements and hemorrhoid risk, which differs from conclusions drawn in some earlier studies.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

Currently, Preparation H is the go-to over-the-counter hemorrhoid treatment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

California health officials are warning the public about a Vietnamese hemorrhoid ointment that is laced with a “highly dangerous amount of lead” and has killed a Sacramento woman.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

It's like the medical disclaimers at the end of a hemorrhoid cream commercial, just it's so fast.

From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2023

All of the circulatory vessels, especially the smaller ones, become enlarged, varicose; and an aggregation of varicosed vessels forms a tumor called a pile or hemorrhoid.

From Intestinal Ills Chronic Constipation, Indigestion, Autogenetic Poisons, Diarrhea, Piles, Etc. Also Auto-Infection, Auto-Intoxication, Anemia, Emaciation, Etc. Due to Proctitis and Colitis by Jamison, Alcinous B. (Alcinous Burton)

People who reported using a smartphone while sitting on the toilet were more likely to have hemorrhoids than those who did not use their phones in the bathroom.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

Up to 40% of men and women will have hemorrhoids at some point in their lives, according to Dr. Ali Rezaie, a gastroenterologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025

Not that smartphone users are more likely to get hemorrhoids, or even that smartphone users were five times more likely to spend more than five minutes on the toilet than nonusers.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025

“Here are some of the things that are more popular than Congress: hemorrhoids, Nickelback, traffic jams, cockroaches, root canals, colonoscopies, herpes,” Schwarzenegger said in a 2017 Facebook video.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025

Wilson Carbod, the center for the Culver Creek Nothings, had hemorrhoids, or at least he kept hemorrhoidal cream secreted away in the bottom drawer of his desk.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green