tourniquet

American

[tur-ni-kit, toor-] / ˈtɜr nɪ kɪt, ˈtʊər- /

noun

Medicine/Medical, Surgery. any device for arresting bleeding by forcibly compressing a blood vessel, as a bandage tightened by twisting.
a device for pulling the parts of a wooden piece of furniture together, consisting of a pair of twisted cords passed around the parts.

tourniquet British

/ ˈtʊənɪˌkeɪ, ˈtɔː- /

noun

med any instrument or device for temporarily constricting an artery of the arm or leg to control bleeding

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tourniquet

1685–95; < French, derivative of tourner to turn

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Her father said she also applied a tourniquet, tying a piece of rope tightly around her arm.

From BBC

Next, she tied a tourniquet on his arm, picked up a needle, swiped his inner elbow with alcohol, and started to draw blood.

From Literature

"Officers applied a tourniquet and summoned emergency medical personnel," before they were taken to hospital, the statement said, adding that "their conditions are unknown".

From BBC

She said that her partner helped one of the injured passengers by using his belt as a tourniquet.

From BBC

A passerby used a belt as a tourniquet to stop him from losing too much blood, saving his life.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023