life-support

1 of 2

adjective

life-sup·​port ˈlīf-sə-ˈpȯrt 

: providing support necessary to sustain life

especially : of or relating to a system providing such support

life-support equipment

life support

2 of 2

noun

: medical equipment, treatments, or medications that temporarily replace or support the function of one or more failing organs in a seriously ill or injured patient and that provide an opportunity for stabilization or recovery

The patient was placed on life support.

A mechanical pump that was invented as a temporary life support for patients with advanced heart failure is emerging as a potential tool to help hearts heal and function for the long term on their own.

—Ron Winslow

The current pediatric and adult life support recommendations suggest an epinephrine administration interval … of 3–5 minutes during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

—Donald H. Shaffner and Clifton W. Callaway

Example Sentences

Noun

He was removed from life support.

She was put on life support.

equipment providing life support for astronauts

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Not only will the 3.8-meter-wide Haven-1 module launch inside a Falcon 9 rocket, but part of its life-support systems will also be provided by the Crew Dragon spacecraft when the vehicle is docked. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 10 May 2023

Mountaineering rangers brought along life-support equipment used to rescue avalanche survivors, the park service said. —Dennis Romero, NBC News, 6 May 2023

At its core is Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson), a technical genius who keeps the silo’s life-support systems functioning, who begins asking probing and uncomfortable questions after a personal loss involving a mysterious death. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 5 May 2023

Buildings and communities function as life-support systems. —William Mcdonough, Scientific American, 1 July 2017

Even before the pandemic put a pause on in-person gatherings, the Electronic Entertainment Expo was already on life-support as the larger developers had already put distance between themselves and the event to focus on their own presentations on their own time. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 30 Mar. 2023

Noun

Hernandez spent three weeks in a coma on life support, went through several surgeries, and was hospitalized for three months before being discharged using a wheelchair. —Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2023

The economy is on life support, the government’s budget heavily dependent on Western grants and loans. —Tim Lister, CNN, 16 Apr. 2023

During Covid-19 lockdowns, businesses everywhere found themselves on life support. —Matthew Dunlap, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023

Once at the hospital, Woods was placed on life support, according to schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2023

But, with both of those matters stalled and little hope of any resumption in negotiations, the administration is attempting just to keep the concepts on life support. —Matthew Lee, ajc, 30 Jan. 2023

But with both of those matters stalled and little hope of any resumption of negotiations, the administration is attempting just to keep the concepts on life support. —Matthew Lee, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2023

Fraternity members dumped Brennan at a hospital, where he was placed on life support and given a 1 percent chance of survival, the complaint alleges. —Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2023

After initially being given little chance to live and spending a month on life support, Moldovan began to recover at a rehabilitation center and returned home for the first time since being shot in June 2022. —Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1959, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1974, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

life-support

1 of 2 adjective

: providing support necessary to sustain life

especially : of, relating to, or being a life-support system

life-support equipment

life support

2 of 2 noun

: medical equipment, treatments, or medications used to temporarily replace or support the function of one or more failing organs in a seriously ill or injured patient and that provide an opportunity for stabilization or recovery

Because of the multiplicity of drugs administered in advanced life support, assessment of response to calcium alone is difficult.

—Journal of the American Medical Association

Extracorporeal life support … is used to support the circulation of a patient with severe cardiac failure. The physiologic objective is to provide temporary circulatory support to the vital organs and to unload the failing heart as the injured myocardium attempts to recover.

—Massimo Massetti et al., The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

Most of the patients from whom support was withheld or withdrawn had intracranial lesions, usually the result of trauma. A poor prognosis or brain death prompted the withholding or withdrawal of life support in most patients.

—Nicholas G. Smedira et al., The New England Journal of Medicine