arterial

1 of 2

adjective

ar·​te·​ri·​al är-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce arterial (audio)
1
a
: of or relating to an artery
b
: relating to or being the bright red blood present in most arteries that has been oxygenated in lungs or gills
2
: of, relating to, or constituting through traffic
arterially adverb

arterial

2 of 2

noun

: a through street or highway

Examples of arterial in a Sentence

Noun one of the main arterials connecting the airport with the city
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Of that, 40% would go to freeway projects, 37% to transit and 22% to arterial streets and intersection improvements. Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 28 Feb. 2024 If that was everyday and the commutes could be interrupted in a major way and there’s no real major arterial street way to get people downtown. Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2024 Plans call for 140 miles of additional bikeways by 2040, many of them at sidewalk level and funded by the city’s new 1% sales tax, which will reconstruct 44 miles of arterial streets. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 29 Jan. 2024 Experts point to a range of factors in these deaths, with more happening at night or on arterial roads, and issues like speed and distraction playing a role. Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 27 Feb. 2024 The large, multi-lane roads with few crosswalks and higher speed limits, also called arterial roads, are where most of the fatal car accidents take place. Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 5 Feb. 2024 Around 60% of pedestrian fatalities in 2021 were on arterial roads, according to the GHSA report. Maia Pandey, NBC News, 29 June 2023 Before pulse oximeters were widely adopted in the 1980s, the only way to gauge a patient’s blood oxygen saturation was to draw a sample of blood from their arterial vein, a painful procedure that had to be followed by immediate laboratory analysis. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Those genomes are collated with the individuals’ blood pressure, heart rate, grip strength, bone density, arterial stiffness, vision, height, weight, hip and waist measurements, location, education level, employment and medical histories, diet and exercise habits, smoking and drinking status, etc. Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 8 Dec. 2023
Noun
Supervised exercise, often prescribed to patients at risk for peripheral arterial disease, requires a $10 to $20 copay each for a dozen visits to a rehabilitation center that might be an hour's drive away. Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024 All vehicles parked on side streets must be on the odd-numbered side of the street by 10 p.m. To look up arterials visit milwaukee.gov/parkingregulations. Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2024 The rise in pedestrian fatalities has been most pronounced on these arterials, which can combine highway speeds with the cross traffic of more local roads. Emily Badger, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2023 Aurora, an urban highway also known as State Route 99, is one of the city’s main north-south arterials. Gene Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2023 A number of different conditions can lead to cardiac arrest: arrhythmic causes [relating to an irregular heartbeat], arterial causes [when the arteries can’t provide enough blood to the heart], heart muscle causes. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2023 The plans are also boosting the chances that the state will someday punch a key east-west access road, Clubhouse Drive, through the center of Thanksgiving Point and its top-class golf course — after lawmakers took over the commuter arterial along State Route 92 in 2022. Tony Semerad, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 July 2023 And still, city data show that median ambulance response times in Boston for the most life-threatening emergencies — cardiac arrest, arterial bleeds, an unconscious person — was just under 8 minutes in May. Kay Lazar, BostonGlobe.com, 30 June 2023 There are two major types of circulation problems: restrictions in the blood flow going to an area (arterial), and away from it (venous). Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 12 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arterial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, borrowed from Middle French and Medieval Latin; Middle French arterial, borrowed from Medieval Latin artēriālis, from Latin artēria — more at artery + -ālis -al entry 1

Noun

noun derivative of arterial entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arterial was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near arterial

Cite this Entry

“Arterial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arterial. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

arterial

adjective
ar·​te·​ri·​al
är-ˈtir-ē-əl
1
a
: of or relating to an artery
b
: being the bright red oxygen-rich blood present in most arteries
2
: of, relating to, or being routes for through traffic
arterial highways
arterially
-ē-ə-lē
adverb

Medical Definition

arterial

adjective
ar·​te·​ri·​al är-ˈtir-ē-əl How to pronounce arterial (audio)
1
: of or relating to an artery
2
: relating to or being the bright red blood present in most arteries that has been oxygenated in lungs or gills compare venous sense 3
arterially adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on arterial

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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