occlusion

[ uh-kloo-zhuhn ]
See synonyms for occlusion on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of closing, blocking, or shutting something, or the state of being closed or blocked: Corrosion may cause both leakage and occlusion of the water supply pipes.

  2. Dentistry. the fitting together of the teeth of the lower jaw with the corresponding teeth of the upper jaw when the jaws are closed.

  1. Pathology. closure or blockage of a blood vessel: coronary occlusion.

  2. Phonetics. momentary complete closure at some area in the vocal tract, causing stoppage of the flow of air and accumulation of pressure: many consonants in English, as /b/ and /k/, are articulated this way.

  3. Meteorology.

  4. Graphic Arts. an obstructed view, or occultation, of an object in three-dimensional space when line of sight is blocked by an intervening object: Augmented reality is only believable if rendered models respect occlusion and disappear behind real-world objects.

Origin of occlusion

1
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin occlūs(us) (past participle of occlūdere “to close up, shut”) + -ion;see occlude

Other words from occlusion

  • oc·clu·sal [uh-kloo-suhl, -zuhl], /əˈklu səl, -zəl/, adjective
  • non·oc·clu·sion, noun
  • pre·oc·clu·sion, noun

Words Nearby occlusion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use occlusion in a sentence

  • It is claimed to cure chronic auto-infection and the spasmodic occlusion of the lower bowel!

    Intestinal Ills | Alcinous Burton Jamison
  • The occlusion of the vein as well as the artery is not found to increase the risk of gangrene.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • Gangrene, which may follow occlusion of main vessels, or virulent infective processes.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

British Dictionary definitions for occlusion

occlusion

/ (əˈkluːʒən) /


noun
  1. the act or process of occluding or the state of being occluded

  2. meteorol another term for occluded front

  1. dentistry the normal position of the teeth when the jaws are closed

  2. phonetics the complete closure of the vocal tract at some point, as in the closure prior to the articulation of a plosive

Derived forms of occlusion

  • occlusal (əˈkluːsəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for occlusion

occlusion

[ ə-klōōzhən ]


  1. An obstruction in a passageway, especially of the body.

  2. The alignment of the upper and lower sets of teeth with each other.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.