lavage

noun

la·​vage lə-ˈväzh 

 British usually  ˈla-vij

: washing

especially : the therapeutic washing out of an organ or part

Examples of lavage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First introduced for sharks in the 1980s, gastric lavage has been successfully used on various species, demonstrating high efficiency in recovering stomach contents. —Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025

That test, called a bronchoalveolar lavage, was done 10 days later. —Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 16 May 2024

Jimenez was also able to work remotely from Hotel Influenza, taking meetings in between the occasional blood draw and nasal lavage. —Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2022

Postoperative care was reduced to nasal lavage with topical steroids for 3 to 6 weeks. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 9 Jan. 2017

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from laver to wash, from Latin lavare

First Known Use

circa 1895, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lavage

• gavage
• ravage

Medical Definition

lavage

1 of 2 noun

la·​vage

lə-ˈväzh, British usually ˈlav-ij

: the act or action of washing

especially : the therapeutic washing out of an organ or part

gastric lavage

lavage

2 of 2 transitive verb

lavaged; lavaging

1

: to wash or wash out therapeutically

lavaged the bladder with water

the incisions were lavaged with sterile saline

2

: to perform lavage on

she was intubated, lavaged, and received activated charcoal

—R. Rasmussen & P. E. McKinney