critical care

noun

1
: the monitoring and treatment of critically ill or injured patients : intensive care
Critical care involves the use of life-sustaining, high-technology medicine catering to a patient population that extends to both extremes of age. In adult ICUs, the average age is increasing and is now commonly well over 60 years.Simon Finfer and Jean-Louis Vincent
2
: a designated area of a hospital providing critical care : intensive care unit
The death toll rose from six to at least 12, with scores of people needing hospital treatment and some in critical care.Heather Brooke
often hyphenated when used before another noun
critical-care nursing
a critical-care bed
see also critical care unit

Examples of critical care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Best of all, the stability was more than adequate for confident movement during long shifts in critical care. Samson McDougall, Health, 30 Oct. 2024 But for far too many Americans, critical care and treatments are out of reach. Carma Hassan, CNN, 9 Sep. 2024 These devices, if not properly secured, can serve as gateways for hackers to infiltrate broader networks, compromising both patient data and critical care systems. Chrissa McFarlane, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024 On Wednesday, the prosecution called to the stand Rachael Love, a critical care nurse practitioner who treated Nichols at St. Francis Hospital, according to WATN. Tesfaye Negussie, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for critical care 

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of critical care was in 1956

Dictionary Entries Near critical care

Cite this Entry

“Critical care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critical%20care. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

critical care

noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!