tracheotomy
Americannoun
-
tracheotomies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tracheotomy
Explanation
When someone can't breathe because their airway is blocked, a surgical procedure called a tracheotomy might be necessary, when a doctor makes an incision through their neck and into their windpipe. The medical term tracheotomy comes from trachea, the anatomical name for "windpipe," and the suffix -tomy, from the Greek tomia, "a cutting." In simple terms, a tracheotomy is the cutting of someone's trachea. Emergency tracheotomies are commonly performed when a person has choked on an object that becomes wedged in their airway. A successful tracheotomy allows the person to breathe again, until the object can be removed.
Vocabulary lists containing tracheotomy
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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:
A really wonderful guy, sort of a self-advocate and kind of a grump, total badass activist who has muscular dystrophy and has a tracheotomy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He felt this technique would be far less disruptive to the person's life than either constantly being tired during the day or, as a last resort, punching a hole in their throat with a tracheotomy.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2023
During his hospitalization, both of Konrad Imirowicz’s legs were amputated, he suffered several infections and received a tracheotomy, skin grafts and kidney dialysis.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Compared with the 2011 images, these were toned down—no more tracheotomy holes—and the FDA dropped the 1-800-QUIT-NOW number that the courts had specifically criticized.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2023
The kit had had a Swiss Army knife, but Jack broke it performing an emergency tracheotomy on the dinosaur rock at the park.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
The actor had two tracheotomies while undergoing treatment for throat cancer.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2025
Then there was the time my mom raised the subject of tracheotomies when we heard sustained coughing at a nearby table.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
“I had so many respiratory things going on — two tracheotomies by the time I was 1,” said Good, 75.
From Fox News ● Aug. 9, 2019
He underwent three tracheotomies, and his emphysema grew so severe that at one point he needed oxygen onstage to perform.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2016
In fifty consecutive tracheotomies from 1872 to 1874 I did not see one recovery.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
