Word of the Day

: November 25, 2018

occlusion

noun uh-KLOO-zhun

What It Means

1 : the act of occluding : the state of being occluded: such as

a : the complete obstruction of the breath passage in the articulation of a speech sound

b : the bringing of the opposing surfaces of the teeth of the two jaws into contact; also : the relation between the surfaces when in contact

c : the inclusion or sorption of gas trapped during solidification of a material

2 : the front formed by a cold front overtaking a warm front and lifting the warm air above the earth's surface

occlusion in Context

The meteorologist said that the weakening occlusion heading up the coast would lead to off-and-on rain showers throughout the night.

"The company's facial recognition technology can identify a particular person even in complex situations and accounts for variables like facial changes, age-gender handling, as well as facial occlusion." — Abhishek Baxi, Forbes, 28 Sept. 2018

Did You Know?

Occlusion is a descendant of the Latin verb occludere, meaning "to close up." Occludere in turn comes from the prefix ob-, here meaning "in the way," and the verb claudere, meaning "to close or shut." Occlusion is one of many English terms derived from claudere. Some others are recluse, seclusion, and exclude. An occlusion occurs when something has been closed up or blocked off. Almost all heart attacks are the result of the occlusion of a coronary (heart) artery by a blood clot. When a person's upper and lower teeth form a malocclusion, they close incorrectly or badly. An occlusion, or occluded front, happens when a fast-moving cold front overtakes a slow-moving warm front and slides underneath it, lifting the warm air and blocking its movement.