Definition of obturate Obturate

ob•tu•rate

We found 3 definitions of obturate from 3 different sources.

What does obturate mean?

Verb
obturate - block passage through; "obstruct the path"
		obstruct, impede, occlude, jam, block, close up
		disengage, free become free; "in neutral, the gears disengage"
		impede, hinder be a hindrance or obstacle to; "She is impeding the progress of our project"
		block off, blockade impose a blockade on
		barricado, barricade block off with barricades
		barricade block off with barricades
		asphyxiate, stifle, suffocate, choke smother or suppress; "Stifle your curiosity"
		tie up finish the last row
		dam, dam up obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; "dam the gorges of the Yangtse River"
		block out, screen plan where and when songs should be inserted into a theatrical production, or plan a theatrical production in general
		earth up, land up block with earth, as after a landslide
		block up, barricade, block off, bar, blockade, stop, block block off with barricades
		clog up, congest, choke off, back up, clog, foul, choke suppress; "He choked down his rage"

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obturate
ob′tū-rāt, v.t. to close or stop up.—ns. Obturā′tion, the act of stopping up, esp. in gunnery, of a hole to prevent the escape of gas; Ob′tūrātor, that which stops or closes up, as a device of this kind in gunnery, &c.: in surgery, an artificial plate for closing an abnormal aperture or fissure, as with cleft palate, &c., or for distending an opening, as in lithotomy: any structure that shuts off a cavity or passage, esp. in anatomy, the membrane vessels, &c., closing the obturator foramen, or thyroid foramen, a large opening or fenestra in the anterior part of the hip-bone. [L. obturāre, -ātum, to stop up.]