tubal ligation

American  

noun

1. a method of permanent sterilization for women, involving the surgical sealing of the fallopian tubes to prevent the ovum from passing from the ovary to the uterus.

---

tubal ligation British  

noun

1. the tying of the Fallopian tubes as a method of sterilization

---

tubal ligation Scientific  

/ to̅o̅′bəl /

1. A method of sterilization in which the fallopian tubes are surgically tied.

---

Etymology

Origin of tubal ligation

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Between 2020 and 2023, roughly 16,000 women in the East African country underwent tubal ligation, according to Kenya's health ministry.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2025

She shared her tubal ligation journey in a 30-minute YouTube video last March, explaining her decision to have the procedure.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2025

I didn't have to worry about that to the point where a year after we were married, I went ahead and had tubal ligation because he didn't want kids, I didn't want kids.

From Salon • Sep. 28, 2024

Salpingectomy during hysterectomy and in lieu of tubal ligation for surgical contraception was incorporated into routine practice in British Columbia more than 10 years ago.

From Scientific American • May 21, 2023

We won her freedom after establishing that she had had a tubal ligation five years prior to her arrest, which made it biologically impossible for her to conceive, let alone give birth to, a child.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson