vasoconstrictor

[vas-oh-kuhn-strik-ter, vey-zoh-]

noun

Physiology, Pharmacology.

1. a nerve or drug that causes vasoconstriction.

vasoconstrictor

/ ˌveɪzəʊkənˈstrɪktə /

noun

1. a drug, agent, or nerve that causes narrowing ( vasoconstriction ) of the walls of blood vessels

adjective

1. causing vasoconstriction

Other Word Forms

• vasoconstrictive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vasoconstrictor¹

First recorded in 1875–80; vaso- + constrictor

Example Sentences

Caffeine has vasoconstrictor properties, meaning it causes blood vessels to squeeze together, which can briefly raise heart rate.

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Slowly, Zuñiga’s numbers began to recover as the ventilator and vasoconstrictors did their work.

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Afrin is basically neosynephrine, a potent vasoconstrictor, and would be ideal to put on a tissue stuffed deeply in the nose.

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You turn the bed lamp on, open a book: vasoconstrictor and barbiturate make words in oval light reverberate.

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The first such drugs, called ergotamines, were powerful vasoconstrictors derived from the ergot fungus, which grows on rye and other grains and led to mass poisonings in the Middle Ages.

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