What does abscess mean?
An abscess is a localized swelling in body tissue filled with pus, produced when the immune system walls off a bacterial infection. Abscesses can form almost anywhere — under the skin, in a tooth's root, in the gums, or deep within organs such as the liver or lungs — and they are typically red, warm, swollen, and painful. Treatment usually involves draining the pus, sometimes followed by antibiotics, since an untreated abscess may spread infection to surrounding tissue or the bloodstream. The word is chiefly medical but appears regularly in everyday speech about boils, tooth infections, and wounds. It derives from the Latin 'abscessus', meaning 'a going away' or 'departure', reflecting the old idea that humors left the body to form the lesion. Knowing the word helps patients describe symptoms precisely and understand common diagnoses.
nounA swollen area within body tissue, containing an accumulation of pus, typically caused by a bacterial infection.
- A localized collection of pus in body tissue, caused by infection, forming a swollen, often painful lesion.
"The dentist drained the abscess in her gum before prescribing antibiotics."
"A painful abscess formed at the site of the cat bite and had to be surgically drained."
"Untreated tooth decay can lead to a dental abscess that spreads infection to the jaw."
Standard English plural, adding '-es' to the singular.
"Patients with weakened immune systems are prone to recurrent abscesses."
The word 'abscess' comes from the Latin for 'a going away' — because ancient physicians believed the pus literally departed from the healthy body.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of abscess
Abscess comes from the Latin 'abscessus', meaning 'a going away' or 'departure', from 'abscedere' ('to go away'), formed from 'ab-' ('away from') and 'cedere' ('to go, yield'). The name reflects the ancient medical notion that diseased matter withdrew from the body to gather in one place. The word entered English via medical Latin in the early modern period, and it shares its root with words such as 'access', 'recess', and 'secede', all built on the Latin verb 'cedere'.
Related word forms
How abscess is actually used
Primarily a medical term used in both clinical and everyday contexts; it carries no figurative usage of note. Plural is 'abscesses'.
Easily confused with abscess
Access means the ability or right to enter or use something, while an abscess is a collection of pus in tissue; the words share a Latin root but differ by one letter and entirely in meaning.