bolus

noun

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bo·lus | \ ˈbō-ləs

plural boluses

Definition of bolus

1 : a rounded mass: such as

a : a large pill

b : a soft mass of chewed food

2 medical

a : a dose of a substance (such as a drug) given intravenously

b : a large dose of a substance given by injection for the purpose of rapidly achieving the needed therapeutic concentration in the bloodstream

Examples of bolus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The remaining billion-plus bolus that the NIH has to spend? — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 1 Sep. 2021 First, a fast-acting bolus of toxins temporarily freezes the fish; a second wave induces irreversible paralysis. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2021 Disney’s Star Wars arm has promised a krayt dragon–sized bolus of content over the next few years, mostly on the strength of The Mandalorian, Disney+’s ace series. — Adam Rogers, Wired, 11 Feb. 2021 This quick test saves him from wasting a bolus of precious (seriously) sperm on a millipede inamorata from the wrong species. — Emily Willingham, Wired, 22 Sep. 2020 Audi's brash little bolus is a design statement that eclipses the Bimmer and anything else in this class. — Frank Markus, Car and Driver, 1 June 2020 In a worrying sign for Antarctic wildlife, Borowicz has started finding bits of plastic in bird boluses, lumps of undigested food that birds regurgitate as part of the feeding process. — Time, 9 Apr. 2020 Then again, the whole interconnected extent of the bolus (in the German original) makes it a natural for the Internet and hypertext. — Michael Hofmann, The New York Review of Books, 10 Mar. 2020 Other software programs include StentViz to get better visualization of stents; InnovaChase, which can follow contrast bolus at a rate of 5 frames per second; and Innova Vision, for live 3D rotational images at a single click. — Sponsored Content With Emergency Hospital Systems, Houston Chronicle, 12 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bolus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Bolus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bolus. Accessed 27 Jan. 2022.

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More Definitions for bolus

bolus

noun

bo·lus | \ ˈbō-ləs

plural boluses

Medical Definition of bolus

1 : a rounded mass: as

a : a large pill

b : a soft mass of chewed food

2a : a dose of a substance (as a drug) given intravenously

b : a large dose of a substance given by injection for the purpose of rapidly achieving the needed therapeutic concentration in the bloodstream the patient receives a bolus dose to reach the minimum effective analgesic concentration— J. F. Camp subcutaneous injection of a premeal bolus of fast-acting insulin