necrosis
Americannoun
noun
-
the death of one or more cells in the body, usually within a localized area, as from an interruption of the blood supply to that part
-
death of plant tissue due to disease, frost, etc
Other Word Forms
- necrotic adjective
Etymology
Origin of necrosis
First recorded in 1655–65; from New Latin, from Greek nékrōsis “mortification, state of death”; see origin at necr-, -osis
Compare meaning
How does necrosis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Necrosis is when cells in your skin or other parts of your body die. Civil War soldiers with gangrene who had their limbs amputated suffered from necrosis. You're not likely to come across the noun necrosis unless you're in a hospital or a medical school pathology class. It's a term that describes the death of cells in a living organism, usually after an infection or severe illness. It's not something most people need to worry about, unless they are bit by a brown recluse spider. Its venom has been shown to kill live cells in humans — in other words, to cause necrosis.
Vocabulary lists containing necrosis
National Nurses Week: Medical Branches and Conditions
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The Radium Girls
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The Lives of a Cell
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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.
It primarily triggers necrosis, a form of cell death previously associated with molecules from other scorpion species.
From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2025
Doctors said the pressure of the magnets had caused necrosis -- tissue death -- in four areas of the boy's small bowel and caecum, which is part of the large intestine.
From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025
The opposite occurred, though, with necrosis setting in.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025
"You see what we call necrosis, losing tissue, until you get a bare skeleton. And their mortality is very rapid; the entire process takes about 48 hours."
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2023
The light had become the putrid green of necrosis, reflected in the bottles of amber tinctures cluttering the shelves.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
