noun
mastectomy
mas-TEHK-tuh-mee
Mastectomy (noun) means Surgery to remove all or part of a breast, often to treat or prevent cancer. Example: “She had a mastectomy after doctors found an early-stage tumor.”
noun
1
Surgery to remove all or part of a breast, often to treat or prevent cancer.
"An estimate of U.S. “gender-affirming” double mastectomies published in 2023 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported 3,125 cases of “breast or chest procedures” in patients ages 12 to 18 between 2016 to 2020."
— Leor Sapir, A Consensus No Longer (2024)
"She had a mastectomy after doctors found an early-stage tumor."
"Three years later came Angelina Jolie’s revelation that she had the BRCA1 gene, and had decided to have a double mastectomy. The story topped the news, and was written about for days afterwards."
— Hilary Osborne, I thought knowing I had the ‘cancer gene’ would cast a shadow over my life. Now I have it, I realise how wrong I was (2023)
How to use mastectomy
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe medical operation to remove breast tissue, usually as cancer treatment.
Common pairings
double mastectomy
undergo a mastectomy
mastectomy surgery
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Word forms
- Plural
- mastectomies
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
She had a _____ after doctors found an early-stage tumor.
Etymology
Built from Greek mast- ("breast") plus -ectomy ("surgical removal").
Rhymes for mastectomy
roomy
gloomy
sodomy
economy
anatomy
taxonomy
antinomy
autotomy
autonomy
lobotomy
dichotomy
astronomy
See all rhymes for mastectomy →
Frequently asked questions
What does “mastectomy” mean?
The word “mastectomy” means surgery to remove all or part of a breast, often to treat or prevent cancer. In plain terms, the medical operation to remove breast tissue, usually as cancer treatment.
How do you pronounce “mastectomy”?
“Mastectomy” is pronounced mas-TEHK-tuh-mee (/ˌmæsˈtɛktəmi/ in IPA).
How do you use “mastectomy” in a sentence?
Here is “mastectomy” used in a sentence: “She had a mastectomy after doctors found an early-stage tumor.”
What part of speech is “mastectomy”?
“Mastectomy” is a noun.
Where does the word “mastectomy” come from?
The word “mastectomy” comes from Greek. Built from Greek mast- ("breast") plus -ectomy ("surgical removal").
