surgery

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "surgery" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to a medical procedure involving the treatment of injuries or diseases through operative techniques. Example: "The patient will undergo surgery to repair the damaged ligament in his knee."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Lifestyle

Sport

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Plastic surgery?

The New York Times

And the effects of his plastic surgery are not improving with time.

The Guardian - Opinion

When he gave up smoking after major heart surgery in 1997, all his ministers had to follow suit, and he banned smoking in public places.

The Guardian

It will be the first best-of-five set match of the season for Sock, who missed the Australian Open after hip surgery.

The Guardian - Sport

Also a gynaecologist, Luciana is setting up her surgery in the north of the city.

The Guardian

The former Wales and Liverpool striker took charge of the Crawley in December after John Gregory stepped down to undergo heart surgery.

The Guardian - Sport

If I do undergo transplant surgery, I know it will mean that someone in his or her darkest moments of loss has reached out to a stranger and offered them a future with the gift of their loved one's organs.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

The moral complexity of genetic engineering, gamete selection and foetal surgery ran way ahead of old concepts of right and wrong.

The Guardian - Opinion

Abrahams' two-year-old son Charlie was in a critical condition, experiencing up to a hundred epileptic seizures a day and not responding to either drugs or brain surgery.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

"There's definitely a sense of responsibility," says Claire Rafferty, England's left-back and a part-time financial analyst at Deutsche Bank, who can look back nine years and recall her parents digging deep to finance career-saving knee surgery.

The Guardian - Sport

Today at lunch retired US ambassador Frances Cook, who we knew in 1972 when she served in the consulate in Sydney, apologised for slight bruises under her eyes: she and everyone in politics, she explains, have plastic surgery – navy secretaries, congressmen, senators take cosmetic-surgery holidays in Thailand or South Africa.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing "surgery", be specific about the type of surgery if relevant (e.g., open-heart surgery, cosmetic surgery) to provide clarity.

Common error

Avoid using "surgery" when referring to non-invasive treatments or diagnostic procedures that do not involve incisions. Use more general terms like "treatment" or "procedure" in such cases.

Linguistic Context

The word "surgery" primarily functions as a noun, referring to a medical procedure involving incisions or the department where such procedures are performed. Ludwig AI confirms it's correct and widely used. Examples include "heart surgery" or "plastic surgery".

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

35%

Lifestyle

20%

Sport

15%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Science

10%

Opinion

10%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The term "surgery" is a commonly used noun referring to a medical procedure involving incisions, as Ludwig AI indicates. It also denotes a doctor's office or the medical specialty itself. Predominantly found in contexts such as news, lifestyle, and sports reporting, its usage is generally neutral, although formality can shift based on the specific context. Alternative terms include "operation" and "surgical procedure". To ensure clarity, it's recommended to specify the type of "surgery" being discussed. A frequent mistake is using "surgery" when non-invasive procedures are involved.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

operation

A more general term for a medical procedure involving incision and manipulation.

surgical procedure

Emphasizes the procedural aspect of the surgical intervention.

surgical intervention

Highlights the act of intervening medically through surgery.

medical operation

Focuses on the medical nature of the operation.

surgical treatment

Highlights that the surgery is a form of treatment.

operative procedure

A more formal term for surgical intervention.

surgical technique

Focuses on the method used in the surgery.

corrective surgery

Specifies that the surgery aims to correct a problem.

reconstructive surgery

Indicates surgery to restore or rebuild damaged tissue.

minimally invasive surgery

Specifies a type of surgery with smaller incisions and less tissue damage.

FAQs

How to use "surgery" in a sentence?

You can use "surgery" in a sentence like: "The doctor recommended "surgery" to repair the damaged ligament."

What can I say instead of "surgery"?

You can use alternatives like "operation", "surgical procedure", or "medical intervention" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "surgery" or "operation"?

"Operation" is a more general term, while ""surgery"" specifically implies a procedure involving incisions.

What's the difference between "surgery" and "therapy"?

"Surgery" involves physical intervention and cutting, while "therapy" generally refers to treatment that does not require incisions.