surgery

American  

[sur-juh-ree] / ˈsɜr dʒə ri /

noun

plural

surgeries

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

• presurgery
  adjective

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

If you were operating entirely within that framework, you might not even be able to take paid leave for a nonelective surgery.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

It was October 2024, when Jayme from New Pitsligo made the trip by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where she was rushed into surgery.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

The girl was undergoing life-saving surgery, it added.

From BBC • May 9, 2026

Brionna Jones has an uncertain timeline with a knee surgery scheduled, so that might be Okot’s best chance to make an impact.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Cat easily imagined the same hands doing surgery, sewing people up, helping them.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn