obturate

[ob-tuh-reyt, -tyuh-]

verb (used with object), ob·tu·rat·ed, ob·tu·rat·ing.

to stop up; close.

Ordnance. to close (a hole or cavity) so as to prevent a flow of gas through it, especially the escape of explosive gas from a gun tube during firing.

Nearby words

Origin of obturate

1550–60; < Latin obtūrātus, past participle of obtūrāre to block, stop up

Related formsob·tu·ra·tion, nounob·tu·ra·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for obturator

In some cases there is pain along the course of the obturator nerve.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition.|Alexander Miles
The obturator notch is also much less elongated in some skeletons than in others.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I.|Charles Darwin
Obturator and internal circumflex with anastomotica and superior internal articular.
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery|Joseph Bell
The posterolateral intermuscular line is a slight ridge extending distally from the obturator ridge.
Variation in the Muscles and Nerves of the Leg in|E. Bruce Holmes

He found an obturator, instead of a tibial, supply to M. flexor ischiofemoralis.
Variation in the Muscles and Nerves of the Leg in|E. Bruce Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for obturator

obturate

verb

(tr) to stop up (an opening, esp the breech of a gun)

Derived Formsobturation, nounobturator, noun

Word Origin for obturate

C17: from Latin obtūrāre to block up, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for obturator

obturator

[ŏb′tə-rā′tər]

n.

A structure, such as the soft palate, that closes an opening in the body.

A prosthetic device that serves to close an opening or cleft, especially in the palate.

A stylus or removable plug used during the insertion of many tubular instruments.

obturate

[ŏb′tə-rāt′]

v.

To close or obstruct.

Related formsob′tu•ra′tion n.