Meaning & use
Heimlich
Last updated
Meaning
nounsingularmedicalAmerican
A first-aid method for a choking person, in which you press sharply upward on the stomach to push out the blockage.
Grammar: Normally appears in the Heimlich maneuver, or as the Heimlich on its own: she performed the Heimlich.
Patterns
- perform the Heimlich on someone
- the Heimlich maneuver
The waiter performed the Heimlich on the choking customer.
She learned the Heimlich in a first-aid class.
A quick Heimlich dislodged the piece of food from his throat.
Common combinations
- Heimlich maneuver
- Everyone on the staff learned the Heimlich maneuver.
- perform the Heimlich
- Do you know how to perform the Heimlich?
- use the Heimlich
- The coach used the Heimlich to save the boy.
- do the Heimlich
- Someone had to do the Heimlich on him.
- Heimlich on a child
- The nurse showed how to do the Heimlich on a child.
Synonyms and how they differ
- abdominal thrusts
- Abdominal thrusts is the neutral medical name for the same technique and is often preferred in training.
- choking first aid
- This is a broad term that covers back blows as well, while the Heimlich is a specific method.
- back blows
- Back blows are slaps between the shoulder blades and are a different technique, often used alongside thrusts.
Word family
Commonly confused: Heimlich or CPR?
Heimlich vs CPR
CPR restarts breathing and the heartbeat, while the Heimlich is for clearing a blocked airway.
Practice
When the toddler started choking on a grape, her father quickly performed the ____ on her.
Choose one answer.
The Heimlich maneuver is the first-aid technique for choking. The other phrases are unrelated expressions or moves.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Heimlich”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.