local anesthesia

noun

: loss of sensation in a limited and usually superficial area produced especially by an anesthetic affecting only a part of the body

This procedure is usually performed under local anesthesia, and can be done by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon on an outpatient basis.

—Consumer Reports

compare general anesthesia

local anesthetic noun

More than 60 percent of American women choose relief in the form of an epidural, a combination of local anesthetic and narcotic administered into the epidural space surrounding the spinal cord.

—Melinda Wenner Moyer

Examples of local anesthesia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Your healthcare provider will give you local anesthesia, usually by injecting a numbing medication into the toe. —Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 20 Mar. 2025

To drain a carbuncle, a healthcare provider will numb the site with local anesthesia and make an incision in the carbuncle to help remove the pus. —Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 25 Feb. 2025

Hair transplants are performed under local anesthesia or sedation to minimize discomfort. —Kody Boye, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2025

Insurance companies sometimes classify the implant’s insertion as a surgery, though the procedure is done in-office, using local anesthesia, and is not invasive. —Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for local anesthesia

• amnesia
• atresia
• babesia
• anaesthesia
• analgesia
• dyskinesia
• paresthesia
• hyperalgesia
• hyperesthesia

Medical Definition

local anesthesia

noun

: loss of sensation in a limited and usually superficial area especially from the effect of a local anesthetic