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

Other factors affecting blood pressure include:21 Age Baseline blood pressure values Body composition Dosage How often beet juice is consumed Nitrates may not be the only compound of beet juice responsible for its effects on blood pressure. —Elizabeth Barnes, Verywell Health, 14 Feb. 2025

A lot of cancer patients take antiseizure medicines, blood pressure medicines and pain medicines. —Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2025

Water Is Essential to the Body There is evidence that insufficient hydration can cause inflammation, stiffen arteries, and interfere with blood pressure control (causing blood pressure to swing wildly from too high to too low). —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025

What’s more, blood pressure commonly spikes around menopause. —Jolene Edgar, Allure, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

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