life support

noun

: medical equipment, treatments, or medications that temporarily replace or support the function of one or more failing organs in a seriously ill or injured patient and that provide an opportunity for stabilization or recovery

The patient was placed on life support.

A mechanical pump that was invented as a temporary life support for patients with advanced heart failure is emerging as a potential tool to help hearts heal and function for the long term on their own.

—Ron Winslow

The current pediatric and adult life support recommendations suggest an epinephrine administration interval … of 3–5 minutes during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

—Donald H. Shaffner and Clifton W. Callaway

—sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

life-support equipment

life-support measures

Examples of life support in a Sentence

He was removed from life support.

She was put on life support.

equipment providing life support for astronauts

Recent Examples on the Web

The power basketball conferences have dominated, and because power means football, and football means money, specifically more NIL money to use as tokens for players to use the NCAA transfer portal, pessimists see the mid-majors such as San Diego State on life support. —Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025

In 2024, the 78-year-old man’s health started to decline, and he was placed on life support at a hospital, officials said. —Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2025

Republicans are right to demand fiscal discipline, but keeping the FAA’s aging infrastructure on life support is both reckless and wasteful. —Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The series stars Christie Burke (Maid) as Lt. Sharon Garnet, Richard Fleeshman (The Sandman) as Lt. James Brice, Reece Ritchie (The Outpost) as Lt. Spencer Lane (and his clone Ian), Stacey Read as life support chief Alicia Nevins and Ryan Adams as horticulture whiz Angus Medford. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for life support

• abort
• airport
• alport
• athwart
• carport
• comport
• consort
• deport
• distort
• escort
• exhort
• extort

Medical Definition

life support

noun

: medical equipment, treatments, or medications used to temporarily replace or support the function of one or more failing organs in a seriously ill or injured patient and that provide an opportunity for stabilization or recovery

Extracorporeal life support … is used to support the circulation of a patient with severe cardiac failure. The physiologic objective is to provide temporary circulatory support to the vital organs and to unload the failing heart as the injured myocardium attempts to recover.

—Massimo Massetti et al., The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

Most of the patients from whom support was withheld or withdrawn had intracranial lesions, usually the result of trauma. A poor prognosis or brain death prompted the withholding or withdrawal of life support in most patients.

—Nicholas G. Smedira et al., The New England Journal of Medicine

—sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

The principles of medical ethics permit active, direct euthanasia … as well as passive and indirect forms. The latter include withholding or removing life-support measures, administering effective pain controls that often hasten death, and assisting patients in suicide.

—Susan S. Mattingly, The New England Journal of Medicine