noun
Heimlich
noun
1
Short for the Heimlich maneuver, an emergency first-aid technique that uses abdominal thrusts to dislodge an object blocking someone's airway.
"She performed the Heimlich on her son after he started choking on a grape."
verb
1
To perform the Heimlich maneuver on someone who is choking.
"A stranger rushed over and heimliched the choking diner."
How to Use Heimlich
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe choking first-aid technique of abdominal thrusts, named after its inventor — also used as a verb, "to heimlich someone."
Common pairings
perform the Heimlich
Heimlich maneuver
Word Forms
Heimliched past tense, Heimlichs plural, Heimlichs singular
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She performed the _____ on her son after he started choking on a grape.
Etymology
Named after American physician Henry Heimlich, who devised the technique in the 1970s.