thrombus

noun

throm·​bus ˈthräm-bəs How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
plural thrombi ˈthräm-ˌbī How to pronounce thrombus (audio) -ˌbē How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
: a clot of blood formed within a blood vessel and remaining attached to its place of origin compare embolus

Examples of thrombus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The clot, or thrombus, is made of fibrin, platelets, white blood cells and some red blood cells. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025 About nine out of 10 cats with saddle thrombus have heart disease, though most of them do not show outward signs of it before the clot forms. — Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025 Current treatments for stroke patients often involve injectable drugs that dissolve a blockage in the blood vessel called a thrombus. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 13 Nov. 2025 The manner of Guild’s death was natural and the causes were pulmonary thromboembolus, a blood clot in the lung, and a thrombus in the left popliteal vein, a vein in the leg, according to the coroner. — Matt Sledge, NOLA.com, 18 Oct. 2020 See All Example Sentences for thrombus

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek thrombos clot

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of thrombus was in 1725

Rhymes for thrombus

See All Rhymes for thrombus

Browse Nearby Words

thromboxane
thrombus
throne
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thrombus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrombus. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

thrombus

noun
throm·​bus ˈthräm-bəs How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
plural thrombi -ˌbī How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
-ˌbē
: a clot of blood formed within a blood vessel and remaining attached to its place of origin compare embolus

Medical Definition

thrombus

noun
throm·​bus ˈthräm-bəs How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
plural thrombi -ˌbī How to pronounce thrombus (audio) -ˌbē How to pronounce thrombus (audio)
: a clot of blood formed within a blood vessel and remaining attached to its place of origin compare embolus
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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