critical care

noun

1

: the monitoring and treatment of critically ill or injured patients : intensive care

Critical care involves the use of life-sustaining, high-technology medicine catering to a patient population that extends to both extremes of age. In adult ICUs, the average age is increasing and is now commonly well over 60 years.

—Simon Finfer and Jean-Louis Vincent

2

: a designated area of a hospital providing critical care : intensive care unit

The death toll rose from six to at least 12, with scores of people needing hospital treatment and some in critical care.

—Heather Brooke

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

critical-care nursing

a critical-care bed

see also critical care unit

Examples of critical care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Edgar — the hospital’s director of patient services, critical care and emergency services — has been honored with the 2026 AJC Nurse Leader Award, presented by Kaiser Permanente, as part of the Celebrating Nurses awards program. —Nancy Badertscher, AJC.com, 7 May 2026

The otter will then go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for up to eight weeks of critical care. —Cierra Morgan, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026

There were a few animals that did require intensive, critical care. —Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026

Toska was under critical care because of what could have happened, not what did happen, Venkatesh said. —Andrew Jones, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for critical care

• concessionaire
• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare

Kids Definition

critical care

noun

: intensive care