adjective
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of, relating to, involving, or used in surgery
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(of an action) performed with extreme precision
a surgical air attack on the missile complex
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of surgical
Explanation
Things that are surgical have something to do with an operation performed by a surgeon, or something done with the level of precision a surgeon exercises. So, you could wear surgical scrubs or conduct a surgical strike. A surgical resident is a doctor who's learning to specialize in performing surgery, and the surgical wing of a hospital is the area where surgery is performed. Because what a surgeon does requires such precision and care, the adjective is also used to describe anything done carefully: "Surgical bombing is supposed to be much more precise, with narrow military targets."
Vocabulary lists containing surgical
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.
He said the UN health agency had delivered surgical masks and gloves and body bags to Nepal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Hiroshima University team set out to determine whether oral health was also associated with how long patients survived after undergoing resection, the surgical removal of all or part of an organ, for PDAC.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
The trial lasted approximately a year and involved 1,137 patients who, following surgical removal of their cancers, were randomized into groups, with two-thirds receiving the new treatment plus pembrolizumab, while the rest received pembrolizumab alone.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Always more famous for the surgical procedure than his career stats, John died Saturday, the Dodgers announced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Leo must have programmed the weapons with surgical precision.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
