ar·ter·y

[ahr-tuh-ree]
noun, plural ar·ter·ies.
1.
Anatomy. a blood vessel that conveys blood from the heart to any part of the body.
2.
a main channel or highway, especially of a connected system with many branches.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin artēria < Greek: windpipe, artery. See aorta

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Collins
World English Dictionary
artery (ˈɑːtərɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -teries
1.  pulmonary artery Compare vein any of the tubular thick-walled muscular vessels that convey oxygenated blood from the heart to various parts of the body
2.  a major road or means of communication in any complex system
 
[C14: from Latin artēria, related to Greek aortē the great artery, aorta]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Arteries is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

artery
late 14c., from O.Fr. artaire (13c.; ModFr. artère), from L. arteria, from Gk. arteria "windpipe," also "an artery," as distinct from a vein; related to aeirein "to raise" (see aorta). They were regarded by the ancients as air ducts because the arteries do not contain
blood after death; medieval writers took them for the channels of the "vital spirits." The word is used of major rivers from 1805; of railways from 1850.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

artery ar·ter·y (är'tə-rē)
n.
Any of a branching system of muscular, elastic blood vessels that, except for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries, carry aerated blood away from the heart to the cells, tissues, and organs of the body.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
artery   (är'tə-rē)  Pronunciation Key 
Any of the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Arteries are flexible, elastic tubes with muscular walls that expand and contract to pump blood through the body.

arterial adjective (är-tîr'ē-əl)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

arteries definition


Blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart and to the body tissues. (Compare veins; see circulatory system.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Certain systems of veins and arteries ensure blood flow when the main paths are
  blocked or damaged.
However, as our vital transportation arteries clog up, current budgets do not
  project similar investments to meet future demand.
The main difference between the veins and the arteries is in the comparative
  weakness of the middle coat in the former.
Eat a big meal and your intestinal arteries open up.
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