verb (used with object), mortified, mortifying. 1. to humiliate or shame, as by injury to one's pride or self-respect. 2. to subjugate (the body, passions, etc.) by abstinence, ascetic discipline, or self-inflicted suffering. 3. Pathology. to affect with gangrene or necrosis. verb (used without object), mortified, mortifying.
spinal tap noun. plural spinal taps. spinal tap. noun. plural spinal taps. Learner's definition of SPINAL TAP. [count] medical. : a procedure in which a needle is inserted into the spinal cord in order to take out fluid or inject medicine.
lumbar puncture - removal by centesis of fluid from the subarachnoid space of the lumbar region of the spinal cord for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. spinal puncture, spinal tap. centesis - (surgery) the act of puncturing a body cavity or organ with a hollow needle in order to draw out fluid. Translations.