1. blocking or closing off a passage or opening
Usage: medical; technical

1. a speech sound produced by completely blocking airflow through the mouth
Usage: linguistics; phonetics

Examples

• The doctor diagnosed an occlusive blood clot in the patient’s artery.
• Occlusive dressings help wounds heal by keeping them moist.
• The occlusive nature of the bandage prevented air from reaching the cut.
• In English, ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘t’, ‘d’, ‘k’, and ‘g’ are occlusive consonants.
• The speech therapist explained how occlusive sounds are formed.
• An occlusive blockage in the coronary artery requires immediate treatment.
• Students learned to identify occlusive sounds in their phonetics class.