percuss

[ per-kuhs ]

See synonyms for percuss on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

Medicine/Medical. to strike or tap for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.
to strike (something) so as to shake or cause a shock to.

verb (used without object)

Medicine/Medical. to strike the surface of a part of the body for diagnostic purposes.

Origin of percuss

1550–60; <Latin percussus, past participle of percutere to strike hard, beat, equivalent to per-per- + -cut(ere), combining form of quatere to shake (see quash) + -tus past participle suffix, with tt>ss

Other words from percuss

un·per·cussed, adjective

Words Nearby percuss

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use percuss in a sentence

Some find it easier to percuss the dullness due to the heart in this way than by mediate percussion.
Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: | Louis Marshall Warfield

British Dictionary definitions for percuss

percuss

/ (pəˈkʌs) /

verb(tr)

to strike sharply, rapidly, or suddenly
med to tap on (a body surface) with the fingertips or a special hammer to aid diagnosis or for therapeutic purposes

Origin of percuss

C16: from Latin percutere, from per- through + quatere to shake

Derived forms of percuss

percussor, noun

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

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