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 /

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

Young said his next task might be to design a cycling prosthesis to enable him to do the triathlon.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

“Equipped with a prosthesis simulating a glass eye over his pupil,” we are told, Mr. Day-Lewis “practiced hitting it with the tip of his knife without batting an eyelid.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

The participants used the prosthesis in their daily lives to read books, food labels and subway signs.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2025

“You are definitely ready for a preparatory prosthesis, and in record time.”

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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

The prostheses can also be given the ability to handle objects with the same dexterity as a human hand.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024

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

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton