capillary

[ kap-uh-ler-ee ]
/ ˈkæp əˌlɛr i /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR capillary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to or occurring in or as if in a tube of fine bore.
resembling a strand of hair; hairlike.
Physics.
  1. pertaining to capillarity.
  2. of or relating to the apparent attraction or repulsion between a liquid and a solid, observed in capillarity.
Anatomy. pertaining to a capillary or capillaries.

noun, plural cap·il·lar·ies.

Anatomy. one of the minute blood vessels between the terminations of the arteries and the beginnings of the veins.
Also called capillary tube. a tube with a small bore.

Origin of capillary

1570–80; capill(ar) (obsolete, < Latin capillāris pertaining to hair, equivalent to capill(us) hair + -āris -ar1) + -ary

OTHER WORDS FROM capillary

in·ter·cap·il·lar·y, adjective non·cap·il·lar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·cap·il·lar·ies.

Words nearby capillary

capillaries, capillariomotor, capillaritis, capillarity, capillaropathy, capillary, capillary action, capillary arteriole, capillary attraction, capillary bed, capillary drainage

Words related to capillary

hair, nerve, seam, lode, stripe, artery, vein, streak, thread, duct, current, course, stratum, venation, follicle, arteriole, metarteriole, venule

Example sentences from the Web for capillary

British Dictionary definitions for capillary

capillary
/ (kəˈpɪlərɪ) /

adjective

resembling a hair; slender
(of tubes) having a fine bore
anatomy of or relating to any of the delicate thin-walled blood vessels that form an interconnecting network between the arterioles and the venules
physics of or relating to capillarity

noun plural -laries

anatomy any of the capillary blood vessels
a fine hole or narrow passage in any substance

Word Origin for capillary

C17: from Latin capillāris, from capillus hair

Medical definitions for capillary

capillary
[ kăp′ə-lĕr′ē ]

adj.

Of or relating to the capillaries.
Relating to or resembling a hair; fine and slender.

n.

Blood capillary.

Scientific definitions for capillary

capillary
[ kăp′ə-lĕr′ē ]

Any of the tiny blood vessels that connect the smallest arteries (arterioles) to the smallest veins (venules). Capillaries form a network throughout the body for the exchange of oxygen, metabolic waste products, and carbon dioxide between blood and tissue cells.

Cultural definitions for capillary

capillary
[ (kap-uh-ler-ee) ]

A thin tube, such as a blood vessel or a straw, through which fluids flow.

notes for capillary

The interaction between the fluid and the vessel walls produces a force that can lift the fluid up into the tube, a phenomenon known as capillary action.