syringe
Americannoun
-
syringes
plural
-
a small device consisting of a glass, metal, or hard rubber tube, narrowed at its outlet, and fitted with either a piston or a rubber bulb for drawing in a quantity of fluid or for ejecting fluid in a stream, for cleaning wounds, injecting fluids into the body, etc.
-
any similar device for pumping and spraying liquids through a small aperture.
verb (used with object)
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syringes,
present (3rd person singular)
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syringed,
past participle, past
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syringing
present participle
noun
-
med an instrument, such as a hypodermic syringe or a rubber ball with a slender nozzle, for use in withdrawing or injecting fluids, cleaning wounds, etc
-
any similar device for injecting, spraying, or extracting liquids by means of pressure or suction
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
syringesimple
-
syringessimple
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have syringedperfect
-
has syringedperfect
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am syringingprogressive
-
are syringingprogressive
-
is syringingprogressive
-
have been syringingperfect progressive
-
has been syringingperfect progressive
Past
-
syringedsimple
-
had syringedperfect
-
was syringingprogressive
-
were syringingprogressive
-
had been syringingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of syringe
1375–1425; new singular formed from Late Latin sȳringēs, plural of sȳrinx syrinx; replacing late Middle English syring < Medieval Latin syringa
Explanation
A syringe is used, usually by a doctor or nurse, to inject or withdraw a fluid from your body. A syringe is a medical tool used for several purposes, but they all involve liquids going in or out of your body. A flu shot is given with a syringe: that's a liquid going in. A blood sample is taken with a syringe: that's liquid coming out. Part of a syringe is a needle, so patients usually don't like them. Syringes should only be used by medical professionals.
Vocabulary lists containing syringe
"Working Toward Peace," Vocabulary from the personal essay
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 1–January 7, 2022
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 30–February 5, 2021
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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.
See Examples For:
Their theory was that the descending column of water acted somewhat like a syringe, pushing air through the shaft as it fell.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
Eylea franchise, which would require approval of the pre-filled syringe.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
And it turns out there’s an ingenious, inexpensive little invention that combines the pacifier with the medicine syringe.
From Slate ● May 17, 2026
What followed was a comedy of errors including military drills that outpaced anything this group of office workers had in mind, a rogue porcupine, stranded airplanes and one syringe to the butt of an employee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
“Well, Lenina,” said Mr. Foster, w'hen at last she withdrew' the syringe and straightened herself up.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Schott Pharma, which makes packaging and delivery systems for injectable medications, attributes the guidance raise to a strong performance and a new agreement with a customer for glass syringes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
In her post announcing the decision not to play, she shared photographs of her wearing bandaging on the left knee and of what she said were syringes used to drain fluid from the area.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The disruption has particularly affected petrochemical sectors in Asia and forced governments to take action, with South Korea imposing a ban this month on hoarding syringes and needles to guard against shortages.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
SACRAMENTO—Inside an exam room at this bustling Planned Parenthood center, a clinician prepared six syringes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
There are a few syringes sealed in sterile plastic on a table near Beetee’s bed.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
As a last resort, however, a child may be held and the medicine carefully syringed in.
From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2021
But it was a two-person task to administer her critical-care rabbit food, a powdered blend of timothy grass and soybean hulls to be mixed with warm water and syringed thrice daily past Judy’s unfriendly teeth.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2018
Of course, it’s a misconception that everything punk was just three chords syringed with a whole lot of distortion and anarchy.
From Time ● Jul. 17, 2014
One recent example was someone who was struggling to get an appointment to have their ears syringed.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2013
All that are growing freely in pots or baskets, or on blocks, to be syringed with clear, tepid, soft water in the afternoons of fine days, and to be shut up early.
From In-Door Gardening for Every Week in the Year Showing the Most Successful Treatment for all Plants Cultivated in the Greenhouse, Conservatory, Stove, Pit, Orchid, and Forcing-house by William Keane
Micro-suction treatment has replaced syringing where GPs removed wax by injecting water into the ear with a large metal syringe.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2022
Other greens on the back nine were watered too, but the syringing began before anyone had played the holes.
From Golf Digest ● Jun. 12, 2018
Dr Jessen said: "I advised them to use olive oil as drops. Olive oil is anti-bacterial, antiseptic and softening - they may not need their ears syringing after using that."
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2013
We find her in the lab, syringing gas out of a plastic vial in which a raisin-sized rat turd has been incubating at ninety-nine degrees.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2013
On the evenings of hot, dry days, after the plants have been watered, give them a slight syringing, or sprinkling, over the leaves, and also the ground upon which they are standing.
From In-Door Gardening for Every Week in the Year Showing the Most Successful Treatment for all Plants Cultivated in the Greenhouse, Conservatory, Stove, Pit, Orchid, and Forcing-house by William Keane
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.
