ostomy

American

[os-tuh-mee] / ˈɒs tə mi /

noun

plural

ostomies

any of various surgical procedures, as a colostomy, in which an artificial opening is made so as to permit the drainage of waste products either into an appropriate organ or to the outside of the body.

Etymology

Origin of ostomy

1955–60; generalized from words in which -ostomy is the final element; -o-, -stomy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He lives in Llanelli with his wife Jane and is a bus driver, but before his ostomy surgery he worked in a factory.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2023

"Brayden suffered before he died because the hospital, its nurses, and the home health nurse failed to teach and take care of this young man with a new ostomy."

From Fox News • Jan. 12, 2022

In the late 1960s, suffering from ulcerative colitis, he underwent ostomy surgery.

From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2020

One night Gubar has an “accident” — her excrement-containing ostomy bag, girdled to her stomach, oozes with messy seepage.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2018

She was forced to use an ostomy bag, placed six inches under her left breast.

From Salon • Jul. 9, 2017

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023