percuss
Americanverb (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)
verb
-
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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
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.
Some find it easier to percuss the dullness due to the heart in this way than by mediate percussion.
From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Louis Marshall Warfield
You may knock," said he, when I began to percuss his chest, "but I am —— sure there's no one at home.
From The Stark Munro Letters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
