# occlusion

/əˈkɫuʒən/ (US) · /əklˈuːʒən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/occlusion
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. a blockage

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the act of blocking or closing something, like a tube or a blood vessel.

For teachers: the complete or partial obstruction of a hollow organ, vessel, or passage.

- The doctor explained that the patient had a small occlusion in a heart artery.
- The surgeon identified a significant arterial occlusion that was restricting blood flow to the lower extremities, necessitating immediate intervention.

Usage: Often used with the preposition 'of'.

### 2. teeth alignment

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the way your top and bottom teeth meet when you close your mouth.

For teachers: the relationship between the maxillary and mandibular teeth when they are in functional contact.

- The dentist checked her occlusion to see if her teeth were straight.
- Correcting the patient's dental occlusion required several months of orthodontic treatment to ensure the jaws aligned properly during mastication.

### 3. hidden from view

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

when one object in a picture or 3D space blocks your view of another object.

For teachers: the effect of one object in a three-dimensional space blocking another from the observer's line of sight.

- The software calculates occlusion so that the character doesn't show through the wall.
- Ambient occlusion is a rendering technique used to calculate how exposed each point in a scene is to ambient lighting based on nearby geometry.

### 4. weather front

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a weather event where a cold front catches up to a warm front.

For teachers: the formation of an occluded front, occurring when a cold front overtakes a warm front and lifts it off the ground.

- The weather map showed an occlusion moving across the coast, bringing heavy rain.
- The meteorologist noted that the occlusion was deepening, suggesting that the storm system would remain stationary for several hours.

### 5. speech sound

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

the closing of the mouth or throat to stop air when making certain speech sounds.

For teachers: the complete closure of the breath stream at some point in the vocal tract to produce a stop consonant.

- To make the 'p' sound, you need a brief occlusion of the lips.
- The phonetician analyzed the duration of the occlusion before the release of the plosive consonant in various dialects.

## Examples

- The doctor checked for any occlusion in my arteries.
- The software uses occlusion culling to hide objects that are blocked by walls, improving the game's performance.
- A total occlusion of the coronary artery can lead to a heart attack if blood flow is not restored within minutes, highlighting the critical nature of immediate medical intervention.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.