Moxibustion

//ˌmɒksɪˈbʌst͡ʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The burning of moxa against the skin to treat pain or illness. countable, uncountable

    "Traditional Chinese medicine includes herbal remedy, diet therapy, use of animal secretion and organs, acupuncture, massage, moxibustion (the application of a burning moxa plant to skin), and other folk methods."

Example

More examples

"Traditional Chinese medicine includes herbal remedy, diet therapy, use of animal secretion and organs, acupuncture, massage, moxibustion (the application of a burning moxa plant to skin), and other folk methods."

Etymology

Blend of moxa (“mugwort”) + combustion (“burning”), literally "burning of mugwort", with the connecting -i- usual in Latinate vocabulary.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.