critical condition

noun

plural critical conditions

medical : a serious state in which an ill or injured individual has dangerously unstable or abnormal vital signs and typically requires short-term life support measures (such as mechanical respiration or defibrillation) for stabilization and support prior to or during recovery

The man sustained serious injuries and is still unconscious and in critical condition at Salina Hope Hospital.

—Ingrid Law

A 12-year-old girl was in critical condition today at Children's Hospital with the rare but often deadly hantavirus.

—The New York Times

Examples of critical condition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the second day in a row, doctors avoided saying Francis was in critical condition. —Nicole Winfield and Silvia Stellacci The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025

One person is in critical condition after being stabbed near the University of Virginia (UVA) campus on Thursday, prompting a shelter in place and numerous emergency alerts. —Alexandra Koch, Fox News, 27 Feb. 2025

Francis remained in critical condition but the Holy See bureaucracy continued to function, with the announcement of new bishops and a new church fundraising initiative. —Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2025

Francis remained in critical condition but the Holy See machinery ground on, with the announcement of new bishops and a new church fundraising initiative. —Trisha Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for critical condition

• superimposition
• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition

Medical Definition

critical condition

noun

: a serious medical state in which an ill or injured individual has dangerously unstable or abnormal vital signs and typically requires short-term life support measures (such as mechanical respiration or defibrillation) for stabilization and support prior to or during recovery

The safe transport of infants in critical condition requires highly reliable inter-professional transport teams that are equipped with the expertise to provide neonatal care in unfamiliar and resource-limited environments.

—Douglas M. Campbell and Rita Dadiz, Seminars in Perinatology

The large number of patients with COVID-19, suspected cases, hospitalizations, and patients in critical condition has made the medical work incredibly hard.

—Jing Huang et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases