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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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈnjuː.məʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/
General-American:/ˈnju.moʊˌθɔ.ɹæks/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Presence of air inside the pleural cavity, usually caused by injury either to the lung or the chest wall.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: aerothorax, aeropleura
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
abnormal presence of air in the pleural cavity resulting in the collapse of the lung; may be spontaneous (due to injury to the chest) or induced (as a treatment for tuberculosis)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: abnormality, abnormalcy
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *-mṓ Proto-Indo-European *pléwmō Ancient Greek πλεύμων (pleúmōn) ▲ Ancient Greek πνέω (pnéō)influ. ▲ Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma)influ. Ancient Greek πνεύμων (pneúmōn)bor. English pneumo- English thorax English pneumothorax From pneumo- + thorax.
Across languages
Translations
24 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
pneumotòrax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Chinese Mandarin:
氣胸 /气胸
(qìxiōng)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Dutch:
klaplong
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Dutch:
pneumothorax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Finnish:
ilmarinta
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
French:
pneumothorax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
German:
Pneumothorax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Greek:
πνευμοθώρακας
(pnevmothórakas)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Greek:
πνευμονοθώρακας
(pnevmonothórakas)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Hebrew:
פנאומותורקס
(pne'umotóraks)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Hebrew:
חזה אוויר
(khazé avír)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Hungarian:
légmell
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Italian:
pneumotorace
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Japanese:
気胸
(kikyō)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Kazakh:
пневмоторакс
(pnevmotoraks)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Korean:
기흉
(gihyung)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Persian:
پنوموتوراکس
(penomotorâks)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Polish:
odma opłucnowa
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Portuguese:
pneumotórax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Romanian:
pneumotorax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Russian:
пневмото́ракс
(pnevmotóraks)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Spanish:
neumotórax
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Thai:
โพรงเยื่อหุ้มปอดมีอากาศ
(proong-yʉ̂ʉa-hûm-bpɔ̀ɔt-mii-aa-gàat)
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity
Turkish:
pnömotoraks
— presence of air inside the pleural cavity