triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌäzh 

1

a

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

b

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

2

: the assigning of priority order to projects on the basis of where funds and other resources can be best used, are most needed, or are most likely to achieve success

triage transitive verb

Examples of triage in a Sentence

Nurses do triage in the emergency room.

Recent Examples on the Web

As families process the shock, their first priorities should center on securing official records, establishing clear reporting channels with law enforcement, and tackling immediate financial triage. — William Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 June 2026

Hospitals have provided more than 5,000 direct emergency interventions while another 7,500 triage evaluations and more than 12,000 medical treatments have been carried out in disaster zones, Rodríguez said. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 June 2026

The characters have little time to make life-or-death decisions, let alone ruminate, and the action vacillates between triage and doctors expertly improvising solutions — like Mel (Taylor Dearden) donating her own blood, and Javadi (Shabana Azeez) going MacGyver mode with a tracheal tube. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026

Our sessions became less about triage and more about integration. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 22 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, sorting, sifting, from trier to sort, from Old French — more at try entry 1

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌ 

1

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

2

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

triage transitive verb