biopsy

noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

biopsy transitive verb

Did you know?

Matter examined in a biopsy is always taken from a living organism. Most biopsies are done by using a needle to extract tissue or fluid, but some may instead require cutting, and others may amount to nothing more than swabbing the inside of the patient's cheek. Biopsies are best known as a means of detecting cancer, but a doctor may also take a biopsy of heart muscle to investigate suspected heart disease, for example, or perform a biopsy on a pregnant woman to test for disorders in the fetus.

Examples of biopsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When my first biopsy came back as noncancerous, everyone was confused. —Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025

Six days later—after an ultrasound, a CT scan, PET scans, a brain MRI and a biopsy—Feller learned that her cancer was back. —Joanne Fowler, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2025

Medical providers have a wide swath of imaging options to help peer inside a patient’s abdomen and assess a health concern—but sometimes, a deeper dive is needed in the form of a biopsy. —IEEE Spectrum, 18 Sep. 2025

Diagnosis, treatment and prevention Hepatitis B can be diagnosed through blood tests, imaging tests like an elastography of the liver tissue or a liver biopsy. —Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary bi- entry 2 + -opsy (as in autopsy)

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

biopsy

noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

Medical Definition

biopsy

1 of 2 noun

bi·​op·​sy ˈbī-ˌäp-sē 

plural biopsies

: the removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body

biopsy

2 of 2 transitive verb

biopsied; biopsying

: to perform a biopsy on

the intestinal polyps were removed and biopsied