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Definition of cataract noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

cataract

noun
 
/ˈkætərækt/
 
/ˈkætərækt/
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  1. a medical condition that affects the lens of the eye so that you gradually lose your sight
    • A cataract can be removed under local anaesthetic.
    Topics Health problemsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + cataract
    • have
    • develop
    • remove
    • …
    cataract + noun
    • operation
    • surgery
    • removal
    • …
    See full entry
  2. (literary) a large, steep waterfall
    3. Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin cataracta ‘waterfall, floodgate’, also ‘portcullis’ (medical sense (1) probably being a figurative use of this), from Greek kataraktēs ‘down-rushing’, from katarassein, from kata- ‘down’ + arassein ‘strike, smash’.
See cataract in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: cataract

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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