surgical

adjective

sur·​gi·​cal ˈsər-ji-kəl 

1

a

: of or relating to surgeons or surgery

surgical skills

b

: used in or in connection with surgery

surgical gauze

c

: following or resulting from surgery

surgical fevers

2

: characteristic of or resembling surgery or a surgeon especially in control or incisiveness

surgical precision

surgically

ˈsər-ji-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of surgical in a Sentence

The work was done with surgical precision.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Surgie bots required recalibration multiple times, which greatly slowed the overall process compared to performing them with existing surgical systems. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 9 July 2026

But such humanoid robots made in China are still significantly cheaper than specialized surgical robots like Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Surgical System, which can cost anywhere between half a million dollars and several million dollars. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026

Laparoscopic excision surgery, in which a specialist carefully removes endometriosis lesions, is widely considered the gold-standard surgical treatment and can improve both pain and fertility outcomes. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Plastic parts for automobiles and surgical instruments cannot simply be sourced elsewhere on short notice. — Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

surgeon + -ical

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing surgical

• pre-surgical
• surgical mask
• surgical spirit
• surgical strike

Rhymes for surgical

• chirurgical
• liturgical
• nonsurgical
• postsurgical
• dramaturgical
• metallurgical
• microsurgical
• neurosurgical

Kids Definition

surgical

adjective

sur·​gi·​cal ˈsər-ji-kəl 

: of, relating to, or associated with surgeons or surgery

surgical skills

surgical equipment

a surgical fever

surgically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Medical Definition

surgical

adjective

sur·​gi·​cal ˈsər-ji-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or concerned with surgeons or surgery

surgical skill

2

: requiring surgical treatment

a surgical appendix

3

: used in or in connection with surgery

surgical gauze

4

: following or resulting from surgery

surgical fevers