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

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

The overwhelming majority of cases are tied to work, said Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary critical care physician and UCLA researcher. —Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

critical care

noun

: intensive care