tourniquet

noun

tour·ni·quet ˈtu̇r-ni-kət ˈtər-

: a device (such as a band of rubber) that checks bleeding or blood flow by compressing blood vessels

Examples of tourniquet 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.

And there’d be a pig like me, who’d knelt beside Ted and applied the tourniquet just as he’d been trained to do. — Will MacKin, New Yorker, 28 June 2026 Emotion slowly bleeds out of history; there is no tourniquet. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026 Times video taken at the scene shows one man lying on the ground, his leg bleeding and wrapped with a green garment as a tourniquet, while others help him. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 One, a pediatric ER doctor, wrapped his arm in a makeshift tourniquet and stuffed the wound to staunch the bleeding while others called for help. — Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for tourniquet

Word History

Etymology

French, turnstile, tourniquet, from tourner to turn, from Old French — more at turn

First Known Use

1695, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of tourniquet was in 1695

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

tourneyer

tourniquet

tournure

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Cite this Entry

Style

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

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Kids Definition

tourniquet

noun

tour·ni·quet ˈtu̇r-ni-kət ˈtər-

: a device (as a band of rubber) used to stop or slow bleeding or blood flow by compressing blood vessels

Medical Definition

tourniquet

noun

tour·ni·quet ˈtu̇r-ni-kət ˈtər-

: a device (as a bandage twisted tight with a stick) to check bleeding or blood flow

tourniquet

noun

Examples of tourniquet in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

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