Dictionary

impaction en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɪmˈpækʃən/

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A compression; the packing together of loose matter.
2. (countable, uncountable) Something packed together tightly; a mass of densely-packed matter.
3. (countable, uncountable) A solid, immobile bulk of stool.
   • As plastics cannot be easily egested, these can accumulate within the stomach, causing impaction and leading ultimately to death. 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:
4. (countable, uncountable) The failure of a tooth to erupt into the dental arch, because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue, or other factor.
5. (countable, uncountable) The situation where an 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.

Forms

Deriveds

disimpaction · fecal impaction · reimpaction · earwax impaction

Translations (4)

fr inclusion (failure of a tooth to erupt) · pt impactação (failure of a tooth to erupt) · fr enclavement (failure of a tooth to erupt) · pt retenção (failure of a tooth to erupt)