plastic surgery

noun

: a branch of surgery concerned with improving the function or appearance of parts of the body through reconstructive or cosmetic medical procedures

also : a procedure performed for such a purpose

Note: Reconstructive plastic surgery deals mainly with the surgical repair or restoration of an injured, lost, diseased, defective, or misshapen part or area. It typically involves the grafting of tissue (such as skin or cartilage) from one part of the body to another. Cosmetic or aesthetic plastic surgery focuses on enhancing appearance and includes surgical procedures (such as blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, and breast augmentation) as well as nonsurgical procedures (such as chemical peels and botulinum toxin injections).

Examples of plastic surgery in a Sentence

He needed plastic surgery on his face after the car accident.

Recent Examples on the Web

On Wednesday morning, Lanier hammered Mosseri over the controversial beauty filters that debuted on Instagram’s Stories function in 2019, showing an email chain in which Mosseri appeared to resist a ban on filters that mimicked plastic surgery. —Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026

Instagram filters that promote plastic surgery, such as adding the appearance of facial scars in common procedure areas, were banned, Mosseri said. —Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026

The first option included a temporary ban on plastic surgery filters under the current policy, and then a re-evaluation when there is more definitive data on wellbeing. —Jonathan Vanian,stephen Desaulniers, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026

Fans can now access content shedding light on everything from the kind of steak that fuels Erling Haaland, the Manchester City footballer, to the plastic surgery procedures undergone by Simone Biles — all filmed and sanctioned by the athletes themselves. —Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1837, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for plastic surgery

• cryosurgery
• microsurgery
• neurosurgery
• psychosurgery
• perjury
• radiosurgery

Kids Definition

plastic surgery

noun

: surgery concerned with the repair or improvement of lost, injured, defective, or misshapen parts of the body

Medical Definition

plastic surgery

noun

: a branch of surgery concerned with improving the function or appearance of parts of the body through reconstructive or cosmetic medical procedures

also : a procedure performed for such a purpose

Note: Reconstructive plastic surgery deals mainly with the surgical repair or restoration of an injured, lost, diseased, defective, or misshapen part or area. It typically involves the grafting of tissue (such as skin or cartilage) from one part of the body to another. Cosmetic or aesthetic plastic surgery focuses on enhancing appearance and includes surgical procedures (such as blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, and breast augmentation) as well as nonsurgical procedures (such as chemical peels and botulinum toxin injections).