tampon
/ˈtampɒn
/noun
1A plug of soft material inserted into the vagina to absorb menstrual blood.When you're ready to insert the tampon into your vagina, it might be easier to sit down rather than stand up....
- High absorbency tampons left in the vagina for a long time have been associated with a dangerous illness called toxic shock syndrome.
- Well, the idea of pushing a tampon into your vagina to soak up the flow seems totally gross at first.
2 Medicine A plug of material used to stop a wound or block an opening in the body and absorb blood or secretions.After the nasal tampon has been inserted, wetting it with a small amount of topical vasoconstrictor may hasten effectiveness....
- The procedure consists of inserting tampons of sterile gauze inside the nasal cavities of the patient, by using surgical forceps.
- It is common use that medicated tampons may be applied to a specific body area.
verb (tampons, tamponing, tamponed) [with object]
Plug with a tampon.A woman's fertility or lack thereof may be relevant in the bedroom, but it is in the bathroom that she is most keenly aware of it, whether tamponing herself or holding a pregnancy test in a ‘steady stream’ of pee....
- The splinter could not be extracted, and the liver was tamponed and drained.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from French, nasalized variant of tapon 'plug, stopper', ultimately of Germanic origin and related to tap1.