ligature

American  

[lig-uh-cher, -choor] / ˈlɪg ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər /

noun

1. the act of binding or tying up.

   The ligature of the artery was done with skill.

2. anything that serves for binding or tying up, as a band, bandage, or cord.

3. a tie or bond.

   the ligature of mutual need that bound them together.

4. Printing, Orthography. a stroke or bar connecting two letters.

5. Printing. a character or type combining two or more letters, as fl and æ.

6. Music.

   1. a slur.

   2. a group of notes connected by a slur.

   3. a metal band for securing the reed of a clarinet or saxophone to the mouthpiece.

7. Surgery. a thread or wire for constriction of blood vessels or for removing tumors by strangulation.

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verb (used with object)

ligatured, ligaturing

1. to bind with a ligature; tie up; ligate.

ligature British  

/ -ˌtʃʊə, ˈlɪɡətʃə /

noun

1. the act of binding or tying up

2. something used to bind

3. a link, bond, or tie

4. surgery a thread or wire for tying around a vessel, duct, etc, as for constricting the flow of blood to a part

5. printing a character of two or more joined letters, such as, fl, ffi, ffl

6. music

   1. a slur or the group of notes connected by it

   2. (in plainsong notation) a symbol indicating two or more notes grouped together

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verb

1. (tr) to bind with a ligature; ligate

Other Word Forms

• unligatured adjective

Etymology

Origin of ligature

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word ligātūra. See ligate, -ure

Example Sentences

A ligature cutter was locked in a box and no one knew the combination to unlock it.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2025

Instead of the classic single ligature, they used a triple ligature approach on the upper left molar of male mice.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

But it took 34 years of scientific advancement to link microscopic fibers found on the boy’s shirt to a ligature that investigators located at the couple’s home, a sheriff said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2024

Another challenge in collecting data: Many of these deaths are misclassified as suicide because the subjects are found with a ligature, Rogg said.

From Fox News • Sep. 2, 2021

Every time he grouped notes together with a ligature, he meant that those notes should be shorter than the others.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall