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Showing results for proximal. Search instead for proximad.
Synonyms

proximal

American  
[prok-suh-muhl] / ˈprɒk sə məl /

adjective

  1. situated toward the point of origin or attachment, as of a limb or bone.

proximal British  
/ ˈprɒksɪməl /

adjective

  1. anatomy situated close to the centre, median line, or point of attachment or origin Compare distal

  2. another word for proximate

"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

Other Word Forms

  • interproximal adjective
  • proximally adverb

Etymology

Origin of proximal

1720–30; < Latin proxim ( us ) next (superlative of prope near) + -al 1

Explanation

Something that is proximal is situated closest to the point of attachment or origin. In medicine, it means closest to the center of the body. The opposite of proximal is distal and these terms are also used in geology. If you're talking about the proximal lava beds, you mean the ones closest to where the volcano erupted. Proximal is related to proximity, which means "nearness," and approximate, which means close to the original.

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Vocabulary lists containing proximal

Close Encounters: Synonyms for "Near"

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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.

Likewise, publishers who opt to create push-button novels will be sawing off the proximal tree limb with Wile E. Coyote abandon.

From Salon • Oct. 1, 2024

That conclusion was written into a seminal paper on the virus published in Nature Medicine on March 17, 2020, and titled “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2024

The researchers were able to efficiently differentiate the hiPSCs into the kidney proximal tubule, the type of nephron in the kidney that is impaired in infantile cystinosis, as well as in other kidney diseases.

From Science Daily • Dec. 11, 2023

Greg and Tom were both proximal to the Roy family, but existed just beyond it.

From New York Times • May 29, 2023

The capsules with unbarbed threads are very nearly as broad at the distal as at the proximal end; they are broadly oval with rounded ends.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.