ptosis
Americannoun
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a drooping of the upper eyelid.
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prolapse or drooping of any organ.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ptosis
1735–45; < New Latin < Greek ptṓsis a falling
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.
Doctors at Sunderland Royal Hospital were initially baffled and diagnosed her with ptosis, an eye condition characterised by the drooping of the upper eyelid, and told her to go home to rest.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025
This process is called pyroptosis, from the Latin "pyro" for fire and the Greek "ptosis" for falling off, like the leaves of a tree.
From Salon • Nov. 2, 2022
The 2-year-old from the Ivory Coast was born with closed eyelids, a condition known as bilateral congenital eyelid ptosis, often referred to as drooping eyelids.
From Washington Times • Dec. 25, 2014
Eye-strain is another; ptosis, or falling of the organs, is another.
From Outwitting Our Nerves A Primer of Psychotherapy by Jackson, Josephine A.
It was doubtful in this case whether the ptosis depended on injury to the nerve of supply, or on laceration and fixation of the levator palpebræ superioris.
From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by Makins, George Henry
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.