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DictionarytamponAbsorbent plug
noun

tampon

TAM-pahn/ˈtæmpɑːn/

An absorbent plug placed in a body cavity to absorb fluid.

The clean tampon has a cylindrical absorbent body and an attached withdrawal string.

Unwrapped clean white cotton menstrual tampon with attached withdrawal string beside plain blank wrapper, correct small cylindrical absorbent plug; clinical product still life, no body or blood.
Etymology
tamponFrenchplug

French tampon meant a plug. The menstrual sense specializes that function: an absorbent plug takes up blood, applying the older medical use of a cotton plug to stanch bleeding.

In context

Good Morning America1:23
I would have to wear a tampon and a pad at the same time, like very heavy periods, blood clots in my periods.
Uterine fibroids in Black women: Linsey Davis, Tamar Braxton and Cynthia Bailey speak out

More examples

  • She chooses a tampon with a lower absorbency.
  • She replaces her tampon with a fresh one.
  • The doctor places a gauze tampon inside the cavity to absorb blood.

Forms

tampon · tampons

Similar words

plug
A broader term for something that blocks an opening.
packing
Material filling a wound or cavity, not necessarily a preformed plug.