ab·scess (?b?s?s?)n. A localized collection of pus in part of the body, formed by tissue disintegration and surrounded by an inflamed area.intr.v. ab·scessed, ab·scess·ing, ab·scess·es To form an abscess.[Latin abscessus, separation, abscess, from past participle of absc?dere, to go away, slough, form an abscess (possibly translation of Greek apost?ma, distance, abscess, from aphistasthai, to withdraw, slough, form an abscess) : ab-, away; see ab-1 + c?dere, to go; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.abscess (?æbs?s; -s?s) n (Pathology) a localized collection of pus formed as the product of inflammation and usually caused by bacteriavb (Pathology) (intr) to form such a collection of pus[C16: from Latin abscessus a going away, a throwing off of bad humours, hence an abscess, from absc?dere to go away] ?abscessed adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014ab?scess (?æb s?s) n. a localized accumulation of pus in a body tissue. [1535?45;