What does "vasectomy" mean?

The surgical incision of all or part of the vas deferens as a means of male sterilization.

Vasectomy

Common synonyms include: adenoidectomy, appendectomy, arteriectomy, birth control, castration, cholecystectomy.

//vəˈsɛktəmi// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The surgical incision of all or part of the vas deferens as a means of male sterilization.
"The experimental vasectomy operation was performed under sodium pentobarbital (50 mg/kg body weight, i.p) anesthesia via a lower midabdominal incision as described elsewhere."
2
surgical procedure that removes all or part of the vas deferens (usually as a means of sterilization); is sometimes reversible wordnet

"A vasectomy is a life-changing decision."

From vas- (“vas deferens”) + -ectomy (“surgery involving the excision or removal of a body part”).

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