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

This forced leaders to improvise with more nuanced and surgical approaches to open schools and businesses. —Asa Hutchinson, STAT, 6 June 2024

Melissa Watson, a 46-year-old surgical nurse, bought her cheery blue house in 2021. —Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, 5 June 2024

Right now, the only birth control options for men are condoms, which have a high failure rate, and vasectomy, a surgical procedure that can be hard to reverse. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 5 June 2024

Complete with a surgical operating room and 422 beds, the Prague was the first hospital ship to reach Normandy, arriving at Omaha Beach early on the morning of June 7. —David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 June 2024

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

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