- 1[usually plural] a type of radiation that can pass through objects that are not transparent and make it possible to see inside or through them an X-ray machine (= one that produces X-rays) Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivechest, foot, etc., … verb + X-rayhave, do, take, … X-ray + verbreveal something, show something X-ray + nounequipment, machine, plate, … prepositionX-ray of, X-ray on phrasesthe result of the X-ray See full entry See related entries: Medical examinations
- 2a photograph made by X-rays, especially one showing bones or organs in the body a chest X-ray The doctor studied the X-rays of her lungs. to take an X-ray Wordfinderexaminebiopsy, diagnose, examine, sample, scan, swab, symptom, test, ultrasound, X-ray Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivechest, foot, etc., … verb + X-rayhave, do, take, … X-ray + verbreveal something, show something X-ray + nounequipment, machine, plate, … prepositionX-ray of, X-ray on phrasesthe result of the X-ray See full entry See related entries: Medical examinations
- 3a medical examination using X-rays I had to go for an X-ray. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivechest, foot, etc., … verb + X-rayhave, do, take, … X-ray + verbreveal something, show something X-ray + nounequipment, machine, plate, … prepositionX-ray of, X-ray on phrasesthe result of the X-ray See full entry See related entries: Operations, Medical examinations Word Origintranslation of German X-Strahlen (plural), from X- (because, when discovered in 1895, the nature of the rays was unknown) + Strahl ‘ray’.Extra examples The X-ray showed a crack in one rib. The dentist took an X-ray of my jaw. The result of the X-ray gave no cause for concern.
X-ray
nounBrE BrE//ˈeks reɪ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈeks reɪ//
Operations, Medical examinationsCheck pronunciation: X-ray
