DEPRESSOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does depressor mean? 

• DEPRESSOR (noun)
  The noun DEPRESSOR has 3 senses:

1. any skeletal muscle that draws a body part down

2. any nerve whose activity tends to reduce the activity or tone of the body part it serves

3. a device used by physician to press a part down or aside

  Familiarity information: DEPRESSOR used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEPRESSOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any skeletal muscle that draws a body part down

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

depressor; depressor muscle

Hypernyms ("depressor" is a kind of...):

skeletal muscle; striated muscle (a muscle that is connected at either or both ends to a bone and so move parts of the skeleton; a muscle that is characterized by transverse stripes)

Derivation:

depress (cause to drop or sink)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any nerve whose activity tends to reduce the activity or tone of the body part it serves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

depressor; depressor nerve

Hypernyms ("depressor" is a kind of...):

nerve; nervus (any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A device used by physician to press a part down or aside

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("depressor" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "depressor"):

tongue depressor (a thin depressor used to press the tongue down during an examination of the mouth and throat)

Derivation:

depress (press down)

 Context examples 

Medical devices range from tongue depressors to heart pacemakers and medical imaging equipment.

(Medical device, NCI Dictionary)

The hydrochloride salt form of flurazepam, a member of the benzodiazepines and a long-acting depressor of the central nervous system (CNS) with sedative and hypnotic effects.

(Flurazepam Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

A member of the benzodiazepines and a long-acting depressor of the central nervous system (CNS) with sedative and hypnotic effects.

(Flurazepam, NCI Thesaurus)

EXAMPLE(S): tongue depressor, pacemaker, insulin pump, EKG machine, x-ray machine, mass spectrometer, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine, microscope, pH meter.

(Medical device, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)