life-support system

noun

: an artificial or natural system that provides all or some of the items (such as oxygen, food, water, control of temperature and pressure, disposition of carbon dioxide and body wastes) necessary for maintaining life or health

Examples of life-support system in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her fury at Helios employees being treated so shabbily is matched only by her disbelief at Ger and his crew’s recklessness in allowing the consoles monitoring and controlling all of Happy Valley’s life-support systems and communications with the Titan mission unstaffed. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 1 May 2026

About 90% of the Orion capsule's life-support system had never been tested before in space. —Mark Osborne, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026

In addition to testing this maneuver, this mission also had the astronauts testing life-support systems, navigation, communications and deep-space operations. —Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 10 Apr. 2026

Crew members spent their first day in space making sure the life-support systems on the spacecraft worked and testing out Orion’s manual engine control. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for life-support system

• cryptosystem
• ecosystem
• intersystem
• multisystem
• photosystem
• subsystem

Kids Definition

life-support system

noun

: a system that provides all or some of the items (as oxygen, food, water, proper temperature and air pressure, elimination of carbon dioxide and body wastes) necessary for maintaining life or health

Medical Definition

life-support system

noun

: a system that provides all or some of the items (as oxygen, food, water, and disposition of carbon dioxide and body wastes) necessary for maintaining life or health: as

a

: one used to maintain the health of a person or animal in outer space, underwater, or in a mine

b

: one used to maintain the life of an injured or ill person unable to maintain certain physiological processes without artificial support