occlude
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Dentistry. to shut or close, with the cusps of the opposing teeth of the upper and lower jaws fitting together.
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Meteorology. to form an occluded front.
verb
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(tr) to block or stop up (a passage or opening); obstruct
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(tr) to prevent the passage of
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(tr) chem (of a solid) to incorporate (a substance) by absorption or adsorption
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meteorol to form or cause to form an occluded front
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dentistry to produce or cause to produce occlusion, as in chewing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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occludesimple
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occludessimple
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have occludedperfect
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has occludedperfect
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am occludingprogressive
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are occludingprogressive
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is occludingprogressive
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have been occludingperfect progressive
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has been occludingperfect progressive
Past
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occludedsimple
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had occludedperfect
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was occludingprogressive
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were occludingprogressive
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had been occludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of occlude
1590–1600; < Latin occlūdere to shut up, close up, equivalent to oc- oc- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere to close
Explanation
Occlude means to obstruct, as with an opening. You hear this a lot in a medical context. Heart surgeons are looking for occlusions in blood vessels — things that occlude the flow of blood. Occlude does not exist only in a medical context. If you close the bathroom door so your little brother won't come in while you're trying out makeup with your friends, you're occluding the bathroom. Meanwhile, your makeup occludes your pores.
Vocabulary lists containing occlude
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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It's All a Blur: Synonyms for "Unclear"
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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.
See Examples For:
To improve this, Dr Alexander suggests reducing headphone use time and using the transparency mode which can amplify the background noise as well as wearing headphones that don't completely occlude or block the ears.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2025
It would lead to voter confusion, especially since clerks would inevitably place some stickers a few centimeters off by accident, failing to fully occlude Kennedy’s name and accidentally blocking out another.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2024
If clouds conspire to occlude your view, don’t fret: there are lots of sites where you can watch online.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 11, 2023
The series begins with these stereotypes, then works to reveal the humanity that the stereotypes occlude.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2022
These colloid substances occlude the minute excretory ducts in liver, spleen, kidneys and other organs, interfering with their normal functions and causing the retention of morbid matter in the system.
From Nature Cure by Lindlahr, Henry
It’s also not feminist because it occludes the men who were killed based on the same lies.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2023
But I also think that the focus on Florida occludes a bigger story.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2023
Framing major domestic disasters through the lens of war occludes a role for civilians on the front line, displacing them from our national narratives.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2022
Finally, it occludes the extent to which history doesn’t repeat itself but does rhyme.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 25, 2018
Sometimes a portion of the clot in the sac is separated and becomes impacted as an embolus in the artery beyond, leading to thrombosis which first occludes the artery and then extends into the sac.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
Ms. Kiri, who is on camera almost nonstop and is in close-up much of the time, expertly holds our attention as her character’s skepticism about the paranormal world becomes increasingly occluded by worry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Just a few rows back from the front of the stage, I watched as patches of brown, well-trodden grass — once largely visible minutes earlier — became steadily occluded by hundreds of feet.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2024
Some machine-learning approaches employ generative AI models that try to guess what lies in the occluded regions, but these models can hallucinate objects that aren't really there.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024
At the intersection, visibility is occluded by buildings, and it’s not possible to see objects around a corner until they are very close to the intersection, Dietrerich’s statement said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
I wished still to cry, and attempted it again; and once again, my effort failed, all tears occluded.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
“Concerns are held for the occupants of these two vehicles due to serious weather conditions” that have hampered the search effort, with low clouds occluding an aerial search, a spokesman for the police said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
This image was taken by JWST’s NIRCam, allowing it to capture previously hidden features within and behind the occluding dust.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 21, 2022
His team beat Oklahoma, 21-14, in the Sugar Bowl national title game Jan. 4, 2004, and it was a matter of labor occluding art rather than today’s splashy fashion of art occluding labor.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 11, 2021
It is when working out takes over your life, occluding all else – work, family, friends – that you have a problem.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2019
But deep in the fields the brownish stalks rise from the earth to more than twice her height, occluding her vision.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
