impaction

English

Etymology

From Latin impingere (“to dash against, impinge”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪmˈpækʃən/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ækʃən

Noun

impaction (countable and uncountable, plural impactions)

  1. Compression; the packing together of loose matter.
  2. something packed together tightly; a mass of densely-packed matter
  3. (medicine) A solid, immobile bulk of stool.
    • 2021, Alice A. Horton, Isobelle Blissett, Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Freshwater Aquatic, Terrestrial and Avian Migratory Species in the Asia and Pacific Region, Convention on Migratory Species, page 22:
      As plastics cannot be easily egested, these can accumulate within the stomach, causing impaction and leading ultimately to death.
  4. (dentistry) Failure of a tooth to erupt into the dental arch, because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue, or other factor.
  5. (education) The situation where an educational institute, usually a college or university, receives more applications from qualified applicants than the number of spaces available, meaning that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance.

Derived terms

Translations

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