1
: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
2
: a state of mental or physical sluggishness : torpor
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
Examples of coma in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
At the start of the episode, Senior suffers a stroke and is put into an induced coma.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
That's because the object is still active, meaning it's composed of not just rock, but also has an icy nucleus and a bright cloud of gas and dust, known as a coma, surrounding it.
—Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 12 Dec. 2025
The resulting grainy teaser reveals the comet's bright nucleus surrounded by a glowing coma of gas and dust.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
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Noun
After months of struggling to breathe, he was hospitalized with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening condition that left him in a coma for 16 days.
—CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
At the start of the episode, Senior suffers a stroke and is put into an induced coma.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
That's because the object is still active, meaning it's composed of not just rock, but also has an icy nucleus and a bright cloud of gas and dust, known as a coma, surrounding it.
—Eric Lagatta, AZCentral.com, 12 Dec. 2025
The resulting grainy teaser reveals the comet's bright nucleus surrounded by a glowing coma of gas and dust.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
Cite this Entry
“Coma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coma. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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