prosthesis

American  

[pros-thee-sis, pros-thuh-sis] / prɒsˈθi sɪs, ˈprɒs θə sɪs /

noun

• prostheses
  plural

1. a device, either external or implanted, that substitutes for or supplements a missing or defective part of the body.

2. Grammar, Prosody. the addition of one or more sounds or syllables to a word or line of verse, especially at the beginning.

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prosthesis British  

/ ˈprɒsθɪsɪs, prɒsˈθiːsɪs, prɒsˈθɛtɪk /

noun

1. surgery

   1. the replacement of a missing bodily part with an artificial substitute

   2. an artificial part such as a limb, eye, or tooth

2. linguistics another word for prothesis

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prosthesis Scientific  

/ prŏs-thē′sĭs /

• prostheses
  plural

1. An artificial device used to replace a missing or defective body part, such as a limb or a heart valve.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prosthetic
  adjective
• prosthetically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prostheses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prosthesis

1545–55; < Late Latin < Greek prósthesis a putting to, addition, equivalent to prós to + thésis a placing; see thesis

Explanation

In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial body part meant to replace one that's missing. If you were born with only one arm, doctors might fit you with a prosthesis to fill in for your missing arm. When someone loses a body part because of illness or an accident (or if they're born without a limb or another body part), they sometimes have the option to get a prosthesis. Some prostheses are very simple duplicates of the absent part, while others are extremely complex devices. Some limb prostheses are even "robotic," allowing their users to move them as if they were real. In Greek, prosthesis means "addition."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prosthesis prostheses

"It wasn't so easy to paint back then, but now everything is very different," says Cristian Juarez, a 29-year-old who works with a prosthesis after losing his right leg in an accident 11 years ago.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

He later said he was fortunate to not have a prosthesis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

She also has a white prosthesis in the place of one leg.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2025

Mr Richards can also have a 3D scan to capture his face digitally to develop replicas of him and then design the moulds for these prosthesis.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025

He slides up a leg of his black jeans and takes off a black, high-topped sneaker, then a prosthesis.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

The most recent work, Berenice Olmedo’s “Amalia,” a motorized sculpture of a leg made from medical prostheses, splints and braces, was created in 2021, a comment on difficulties faced by the disabled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

The centre was set up around 60 years ago by a Belgian Catholic association and has a workshop for producing prostheses, splints and braces.

From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025

“When I didn't have prostheses, I had to move around in a wheelchair. I discovered how inaccessible and unsuited Kyiv was for wheelchair users, even though it’s the capital city,” he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2024

These prostheses for the deaf require a permanent power supply for signal processing from batteries.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024

Instruments are prostheses for thinking, and act as agents of change.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton