osteoarthritis

noun

os·te·o·ar·thri·tis | \ ˌä-stē-ō-är-ˈthrī-təs

Definition of osteoarthritis

: a common form of arthritis typically with onset during middle or old age that is characterized by progressive degenerative changes in the cartilage of one or more joints (as of the knees, hips, and hands) accompanied by thickening and overgrowth of adjacent bone and that is marked symptomatically chiefly by stiffness, swelling, pain, deformation of joints, and loss of range of motion —abbreviation OA — compare rheumatoid arthritis

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Examples of osteoarthritis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The vets started treatment and management, but the most recent exam showed advanced osteoarthritis and that the irreversible condition was accelerating at a rapid rate, the zoo said. — NBC News, "April the giraffe, who went viral with 2017 birth, is dead," 3 Apr. 2021 Patients who develop rapidly progressive osteoarthritis will be told to stop taking tanezumab. — Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, "FDA advisory committees will begin hearings on drug aimed at osteoarthritis pain," 24 Mar. 2021 April's veterinarians noticed the giraffe was showing notable signs of osteoarthritis in the summer of 2020. — Jennifer Henderson And Alaa Elassar, CNN, "April the Giraffe, who became a worldwide sensation for giving birth in 2017, has died," 2 Apr. 2021 Other treatments that are helpful for osteoarthritis of the shoulder include exercises (ideally, while supervised by an occupational or physical therapist); oral anti-inflammatories; and Tylenol. — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, "Dear Doctor: Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine after testing positive?," 2 Apr. 2021 It is geared towards patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis pain in the knee and hip, for whom opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs haven’t worked or aren’t a good option. — Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, "FDA panel to consider osteoarthritis drug tanezumab," 25 Mar. 2021 The vitamin C and bromelain in pineapples have also shown to decrease pain and swelling in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. — Katy Severson, chicagotribune.com, "What are the health benefits of pineapple?," 26 Feb. 2021 Data from a long-running National Institutes of Health study on knee osteoarthritis showed that Black patients, and people with lower incomes, reported more pain than other patients with x-rays radiologists scored as similar. — Tom Simonite, Wired, "New Algorithms Could Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care," 25 Jan. 2021 At 70, John Martin was a retired farmer who suffered from debilitating osteoarthritis and hypertension. — Akilah Johnson, ProPublica, "How COVID-19 Hollowed Out a Generation of Young Black Men," 22 Dec. 2020

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

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Last Updated

27 Apr 2021

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“Osteoarthritis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/osteoarthritis. Accessed 18 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for osteoarthritis

osteoarthritis

noun

English Language Learners Definition of osteoarthritis

medical : a disease that causes the joints to become very painful and stiff

See the full definition for osteoarthritis in the English Language Learners Dictionary

osteoarthritis

noun

os·teo·ar·thri·tis | \ ˌäs-tē-ō-är-ˈthrīt-əs

plural osteoarthritides\ -ˈthrit-ə-ˌdēz

Medical Definition of osteoarthritis

— called also degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease, hypertrophic arthritis

— compare rheumatoid arthritis

Other Words from osteoarthritis

osteoarthritic \ -ˈthrit-ik

\ adjective

Treatment for hand and finger osteoarthritis has the same goals as treatment for any osteoarthritic joint: pain reduction, mobility maintenance and minimization of disability. — Paul G. Donohue, The Springfield (Massachusetts) Union-News, 11 Mar. 1998

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