obturation

Noun

obturation (countable and uncountable, plural obturations)

1. The act of stopping up, or closing, an opening.
   • Deaf by an outward obturation.1612–1634, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=I to VIII), London, →OCLC
   • None of Mr. Knott's gestures could be called characteristic, unless perhaps that which consisted in the simultaneous obturation of the facial cavities, the thumbs in the mouth, the forefingers in the ears, the little fingers in the nostrils, the third fingers in the eyes and the second fingers...1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
2. The process of a bullet expanding under pressure to fit the bore of the firearm, or a cartridge case expanding under pressure to seal the chamber.