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Medicine vocabulary · Symptoms and Signs

Vomiting

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈvɑːmɪtɪŋ/nounCore term

In medicine, vomiting means: Bringing up the contents of the stomach through the mouth; it often follows nausea but can also happen without warning.

In Turkish: kusma

How it is used

Doctors ask how often the patient is vomiting, what the vomit looks like (food, bile, blood, 'coffee grounds') and whether fluids stay down. Notes often pair it with nausea ('N&V'). Patients say 'be sick' or 'throw up'.

Example sentences

  1. She has been vomiting since last night and can't keep any fluids down.

  2. Repeated vomiting after a head injury is a red flag.

Common collocations

  • persistent vomiting
  • nausea and vomiting
  • projectile vomiting
  • start vomiting
  • nauseaAn unpleasant feeling in the stomach that you might vomit. It may or may not be followed by actually being sick.
  • diarrheaPassing loose or watery stools more often than usual, typically three or more times a day.
  • dehydrationA state in which the body has lost more water than it has taken in, so it no longer has enough fluid to work normally.
  • abdominal painPain anywhere in the belly, between the chest and the groin; it has many causes, from indigestion to appendicitis.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Symptoms and Signs

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.