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

Example Sentences

Rolling Stone didn’t say where Gadson died or specify a cause but said the drummer’s wife, Barbara, had confirmed the news; she told the magazine that Gadson had experienced a fall recently and undergone surgery.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

He had surgery on an ankle injury that included a fibula fracture, sustained following a challenge by Micky van de Ven as he scored against Spurs in a 2-1 win on 20 December.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

It led to the widespread belief that the splitter was the cause of the rapidly increasing rate of Tommy John surgery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Since their invention in the 1960s, lasers have transformed both science and daily life, powering everything from grocery store scanners to vision-correcting surgery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

What harm would it do if I jumped on the plastic surgery bandwagon?

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi