tourniquet

[ tur-ni-kit, toor- ]

/ ˈtɜr nɪ kɪt, ˈtʊər- /

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noun

Medicine/Medical, Surgery. any device for arresting bleeding by forcibly compressing a blood vessel, as a bandage tightened by twisting.

a device for pulling the parts of a wooden piece of furniture together, consisting of a pair of twisted cords passed around the parts.

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Origin of tourniquet

1685–95; <French, derivative of tourner to turn

Words nearby tourniquet

Tournai, tournament, tournedos, Tourneur, tourney, tourniquet, tournois, tour of duty, tour operator, Tours, tourtière

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tourniquet in a sentence

It’s not the six surgeries he underwent, the half-year bedridden, or the image of his younger cousin using a shirt as a tourniquet to save his life.
He Was Shot by a Stranger but Treated Like a Criminal When He Reached the ER|Melissa Chan|October 13, 2021|Time
I woke up as my medic strapped a tourniquet to my leg and turned to my Afghan interpreter to assist with bandages.
We Must Help the Afghan Interpreters Who Helped Us|Florent Groberg|June 15, 2021|Time
All of that provided a perfectly pleasant 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park, a win that doubled as a tourniquet.
The Nats have shaken off slow starts before, but this one seems to raise bigger questions|Barry Svrluga|May 13, 2021|Washington Post
A bystander had placed a belt on his arm to act as a tourniquet.
New Orleans Shooting: I Saw the Mother’s Day Parade Gunman|Jarratt Pytell|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The tourniquet on the left leg went just above the knee, below which there was nothing but torn flesh and a length of bare bone.
Carlos Arredondo, Boston Marathon Hero in a Cowboy Hat, on the Bombs|Michael Daly|April 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Another Afghan police officer used a towel as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Afghanistan's Troop Killers|Jessica Stone|March 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
An Army officer then used his belt to make a tourniquet on Munley's leg.
Fort Hood Shooting: The Aftermath|The Daily Beast|November 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
On catching him I found that he had somehow severed an artery in his tail, and I had to improvise a tourniquet to stop the flow.
The Red Cow and Her Friends|Peter McArthur
To prevent the flow of blood, a tight bandage known as a tourniquet must be tied between the cut and the heart.
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
Can such an effect be produced by the sight of that tourniquet of dust, far away over the plain, yet whirling nearer and nearer?
Aletta|Bertram Mitford
He could not help praising them a little for what they had done with the primitive tourniquet and the styptic agency of the snow.
Cedar Creek|Elizabeth Hely Walshe
The pass called "Le Tourniquet" is a better one for a number of coins.
Magic|Ellis Stanyon

British Dictionary definitions for tourniquet

tourniquet

/ (ˈtʊənɪˌkeɪ, ˈtɔː-) /

noun

med any instrument or device for temporarily constricting an artery of the arm or leg to control bleeding

Word Origin for tourniquet

C17: from French: device that operates by turning, from tourner to turn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for tourniquet

tourniquet

[ tur′nĭ-kĭt, tûr′- ]

A device, typically a tightly encircling bandage, used to check bleeding by temporarily stopping the flow of blood through a large artery in a limb.