surgery

American  

[sur-juh-ree] / ˈsɜr dʒə ri /

noun

surgeries plural

1. the art, practice, or work of treating diseases, injuries, or deformities by manual or operative procedures.

2. the branch of medicine concerned with such treatment.

3. treatment, as an operation, performed by a surgeon.

4. a room or place for surgical operations.

5. British. a doctor's or dentist's office or office hours.

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surgery British  

/ ˈsɜːdʒərɪ /

noun

1. the branch of medicine concerned with treating disease, injuries, etc, by means of manual or operative procedures, esp by incision into the body

2. the performance of such procedures by a surgeon

3. a place where a doctor, dentist, etc, can be consulted

4. an occasion when an MP, lawyer, etc, is available for consultation

5. an operating theatre where surgical operations are performed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• presurgery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• surgeries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of surgery

1250–1300; Middle English surgerie < Old French cirurgerie chirurgery

Explanation

Surgery is a medical procedure, usually involving an incision and instruments. A surgery is done to fix or prevent a health problem. There are a lot of kinds of surgery in the world. Some are very serious, like brain surgery and heart surgery. Others are minor, like getting your appendix removed. In most cases, you'll be unconscious for surgery, to make it easier for the surgeon to get the job done. You can also call the room where surgeries are done a surgery, and talk about the field of surgery.

Example Sentences

Adrian brings him a camera in his hospital room after surgery, a gladly received kindness and a sign of a son knowing what his father needs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

Your monthly Social Security check may not be enough to cover an unexpected roof replacement or a surprise surgery.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026

They have already advanced into late stage clinical trials for image guided surgery and other therapeutic uses.

From Science Daily • Jul. 9, 2026

Endometriosis could be diagnosed by a blood test for hormone differences instead of surgery, new research suggests.

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026

Without saying goodbye, he left his American wife, Rose Marie, who was in the hospital recovering from surgery.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple