coma

1 of 2

noun (1)

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

1

: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison

2

: a state of mental or physical sluggishness : torpor

coma

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural comae ˈkō-ˌmē 

-ˌmī

1

: a tufted bunch (as of branches, bracts, or seed hairs)

2

: the head of a comet consisting of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus

3

: an optical aberration in which the image of a point source is a comet-shaped blur

comatic

kō-ˈma-tik 

adjective

Examples of coma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Several bystanders were injured, with one reportedly sustaining a near-fatal skull fracture that left her in a coma for 24 days. —John Russell, People.com, 27 Nov. 2024

The lamppost fell into the crowd below, injuring four people, including a woman who was left with a near-fatal skull fracture and was in a coma for 24 days. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024

Read the stories As part of the therapy, now discredited, injections of insulin would plunge a patient into deep coma as the brain was starved of sugar. —Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024

Vallejo spent a month in a coma, then began the slow journey of relearning how to move and handle everyday tasks. —Bridget Grumet, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

New Latin, from Greek kōma deep sleep

Noun (2)

Latin, hair, from Greek komē

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing coma

• food coma

Kids Definition

coma

1 of 2 noun

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

: a sleeplike state of unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison

coma

2 of 2 noun

plural comae -ˌmē 

-ˌmī

: the head of a comet made up of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus

Etymology

Noun

scientific Latin, from Greek kōma "deep sleep"

Noun

from Latin coma "hair," from Greek komē "hair" — related to comet

Medical Definition

coma

noun

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison