critical condition

noun

plural critical conditions

medical : a serious state in which an ill or injured individual has dangerously unstable or abnormal vital signs and typically requires short-term life support measures (such as mechanical respiration or defibrillation) for stabilization and support prior to or during recovery

The man sustained serious injuries and is still unconscious and in critical condition at Salina Hope Hospital.

—Ingrid Law

A 12-year-old girl was in critical condition today at Children's Hospital with the rare but often deadly hantavirus.

—The New York Times

Examples of critical condition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The driver in the crash was also injured; he was taken to an area hospital, where he was initially reported to be in critical condition. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 31 July 2026

Police said the bicyclist was taken to an area hospital in critical condition. — Jason Green, Mercury News, 30 July 2026

The cub was in critical condition and placed in an incubator. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026

Officials at the University of Washington Medicine's Harborview Medical Center earlier said that one woman was in surgery and was in critical condition. — Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 27 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for critical condition

• superimposition
• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition

Medical Definition

critical condition

noun

: a serious medical state in which an ill or injured individual has dangerously unstable or abnormal vital signs and typically requires short-term life support measures (such as mechanical respiration or defibrillation) for stabilization and support prior to or during recovery

The safe transport of infants in critical condition requires highly reliable inter-professional transport teams that are equipped with the expertise to provide neonatal care in unfamiliar and resource-limited environments.

—Douglas M. Campbell and Rita Dadiz, Seminars in Perinatology

The large number of patients with COVID-19, suspected cases, hospitalizations, and patients in critical condition has made the medical work incredibly hard.

—Jing Huang et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases