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 shooting has left a child and one adult in critical condition, per WBRZ 2 and the Post. —Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026

Medical staff at the jail immediately treated him, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment, and was reported in critical condition, according to the sheriff's office. —Todd Feurer, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026

The younger woman was listed in critical condition at the hospital, officials said. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026

The driver of the van, the father of one of the youthful athletes, was killed at the scene, and one child who was airlifted to a trauma center was in critical condition. —City News Service, Daily News, 30 Jan. 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