Phrase guide

Heimlich maneuver

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A first aid procedure used to treat choking. The patient is lifted from behind, squeezing their diaphragm to expel air and thereby dislodging an obstruction in the windpipe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: emergency-medicine, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Heimlich

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an emergency procedure to help someone who is choking because food is lodged in the trachea

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Heimlich manoeuvere

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: emergency procedure

History

Etymology

Named after American physician Henry Heimlich (1920–2016), who described the procedure in 1974.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: ضَغْطَات البَطْن (ḍaḡṭāt al-baṭn) — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Arabic: مُناوَرَة هَيْمْلِيك — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Arabic: مُناوَرَة هَيْمْلِيخ — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Arabic: مُناوَرَة هَيْمْلِيش — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Chinese Mandarin: 哈姆立克急救法 (Hāmǔlìkè jíjiùfǎ) — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Dutch: heimlichmanoeuvre — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Estonian: Heimlichi võte — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Finnish: Heimlichin ote — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • German: Heimlich-Manöver — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • German: Heimlich-Griff — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Italian: manovra di Heimlich — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Japanese: ハイムリック法 (haimurikku hō) — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Korean: 하임리히법 (haimnihibeop) — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Portuguese: manobra de Heimlich — first aid procedure used to treat choking
  • Spanish: maniobra de Heimlich — first aid procedure used to treat choking