blood pressure

noun

: pressure that is exerted by the blood upon the walls of the blood vessels and especially arteries and that varies with the muscular efficiency of the heart, the blood volume and viscosity, the age and health of the individual, and the state of the vascular wall

Examples of blood pressure in a Sentence

The doctor says he has high blood pressure.

These drugs help lower blood pressure.

She has a blood pressure of 120.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of the learning unit, Burton said growth in the children could be seen as their vocabularies expanded to using words such as thermometer, blood pressure and punctured. —Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026

She was ultimately transported to the hospital after paramedics recorded her blood pressure at 177/108. —Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026

In a pilot trial involving 16 women with preterm preeclampsia, researchers found that filtering out a protein called sFlt-1 from the pregnant women’s blood was both safe and could modestly reduce their blood pressure. —Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 27 Apr. 2026

Work with your doctor to control your blood pressure, whether through lifestyle interventions or medications. —Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blood pressure

• refresher
• acupressure
• overpressure
• flesher
• fresher
• thresher

Kids Definition

blood pressure

noun

: pressure of the blood on the walls of blood vessels and especially arteries that varies with physical condition and age

Medical Definition

blood pressure

noun

: pressure exerted by the blood upon the walls of the blood vessels and especially arteries, usually measured on the radial artery by means of a sphygmomanometer, and expressed in millimeters of mercury either as a fraction having as numerator the maximum pressure that follows systole of the left ventricle of the heart and as denominator the minimum pressure that accompanies cardiac diastole or as a whole number representing the first value only

a blood pressure of 120/80

a blood pressure of 120

—abbreviation BP