/ ˈembələs; NAmE / noun
( pl. em·boli / -laɪ; NAmE ; -liː/) ( medical ) a blood clot , air bubble, or small object that causes an embolism
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent. (denoting something inserted or moving within another, specifically the plunger of a syringe): from Latin , literally piston , from Greek embolos peg, stopper. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.