hypodermic

1 of 2

adjective

hy·​po·​der·​mic ˌhī-pə-ˈdər-mik How to pronounce hypodermic (audio)
1
: adapted for use in or administered by injection beneath the skin
2
: of or relating to the parts beneath the skin
3
: resembling a hypodermic injection in effect : stimulating
hypodermically adverb

hypodermic

2 of 2

noun

Examples of hypodermic in a Sentence

Noun he hardly felt it when the nurse stuck the hypodermic in his arm
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Melting snow mingled with broken hypodermic needles on the park's grass as a ranger and a mental health counselor walked together. Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2023 Huang found that their mouthparts that were much longer and stouter than those of modern fleas – like drinking straws compared to hypodermic needles. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2012 Pop Warner football coach Domingos DaRosa often finds dirty hypodermic needles on Clifford Park, where his team practices. Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Sep. 2022 For the past three legislative sessions, Democratic state Sen. Jill P. Carter of Baltimore has sponsored legislation to decriminalize drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles. Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 During the stop, police observed several hypodermic needles and three catalytic converters inside the car. cleveland, 19 Aug. 2022 The city power-washing trucks worked away, clearing up human waste and hypodermic needles that did not make the sanitary-disposal boxes affixed to public-toilet kiosks. Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2022 The moment the fangs touch the glove, the venom glands plunge like hypodermic needles, shooting poison into saline. Kyle Dickman, Outside Online, 20 June 2018 Officers found on the road two hypodermic needles that the driver had thrown from the car. cleveland, 5 July 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypodermic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

hypo- + -dermic (in endermic "acting through the skin," epidermic)

Note: Term apparently originated by the English surgeon Charles Hunter in "On the hypodermic treatment of diseases," The Retrospect of Medicine, vol. 39 (January-June, 1859), p. 50: "Medicinal substances may be introduced into the cellular tissue beneath the skin with the greatest facility by means of a minute syringe, and so introduced certain medicines will act with an extraordinary rapidity, and the most satisfactory result. To distinguish this plan of injecting beneath the skin from the epidermic and endermic, it would be as well perhaps to use similar phraseology, and call this the hypodermic method."

Noun

by shortening

First Known Use

Adjective

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hypodermic was in 1863

Dictionary Entries Near hypodermic

Cite this Entry

“Hypodermic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypodermic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hypodermic

1 of 2 adjective
hy·​po·​der·​mic ˌhī-pə-ˈdər-mik How to pronounce hypodermic (audio)
: of, relating to, or injected into the parts beneath the skin
hypodermically adverb

hypodermic

2 of 2 noun

Medical Definition

hypodermic

1 of 2 adjective
hy·​po·​der·​mic -ˈdər-mik How to pronounce hypodermic (audio)
1
: of or relating to the parts beneath the skin
2
: adapted for use in or administered by injection beneath the skin
hypodermically adverb

hypodermic

2 of 2 noun

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