Heimlich maneuver

[ hahym-lik ]

noun

1. an emergency rescue procedure for application to someone choking on a foreign object, in which the rescuer places a fist between the victim's lower ribs or upper abdomen from behind and exerts sudden pressure in the form of thrusts of sufficient force to help eject the object from the windpipe.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Heimlich maneuver¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1970–75; named after H. J. Heimlich (1920–2016), U.S. physician, who devised it

Example Sentences

She was voted “most likely to need a Heimlich maneuver if you tell her a joke” when she graduated from law school.

From The Daily Beast