Meaning & use
palpating
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“palpating” is a form of “palpate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbtransitivemedical
Examining part of someone's body by pressing it carefully with the fingers or hands to check for pain, swelling, or other signs.
Grammar: Takes the body part as its object: palpating the abdomen. Outside medicine, people simply say feeling or pressing.
Patterns
- palpate the abdomen/abdomen
- palpate for swelling
- gently palpate something
The doctor spent a minute palpating the patient's abdomen for tenderness.
While palpating her wrist, the nurse noticed an unusual swelling.
Word forms
| third person singular | palpates |
|---|---|
| past tense | palpated |
| past participle | palpated |
| -ing form | palpating |
Common combinations
- palpate the abdomen
- The physician palpated the abdomen to rule out appendicitis.
- gently palpate
- Gently palpate the joint to see where the pain is strongest.
- palpate for swelling
- After the fall, the medic palpated the ankle for swelling.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: palpating or palatable?
palpating vs palatable
Palatable means pleasant to eat (or acceptable to consider); it has nothing to do with examining by touch despite the similar spelling.
Practice
The nurse is ______ the patient's neck to check for swollen glands.
Choose one answer.
Palpating means examining by touch, which fits checking the neck. Palatable relates to taste, paralyzing means causing loss of movement, and pulsating means throbbing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “palpating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.