triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌäzh 

1

a

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

b

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

2

: the assigning of priority order to projects on the basis of where funds and other resources can be best used, are most needed, or are most likely to achieve success

triage transitive verb

Examples of triage in a Sentence

Nurses do triage in the emergency room.

Recent Examples on the Web

State of play: During the shutdown, nonprofits went into triage mode, pooling resources to help people. —Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 19 Sep. 2024

Amid the onslaught, news triage is as much a survival mechanism as a civic duty. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 17 Sep. 2024

For three days, the staff of an Orlando medical clinic encouraged a woman who called the triage line to go to the hospital. —Valerie Gonzalez, Gisela Salomon, and Devi Shastri , The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Sep. 2024

Consider the various aspects of your organization that could benefit from this integration to move this innovation beyond serving as a superficial frontman or a simple triage agent. —Frank Fawzi, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, sorting, sifting, from trier to sort, from Old French — more at try entry 1

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌ 

1

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

2

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

triage transitive verb