personal protective equipment

noun

variants or less commonly personal protection equipment

: protective devices, garments, or coverings (such as respirators, helmets, face shields, boots, or gloves) that are worn especially by workers to minimize exposure to hazards that may cause injury or illness

Additional funds of $1,000 from the federal grant are also available to help train firefighters up to the National Firefighter Protection Association standard. … Equipment to be purchased includes 74 complete sets of personal protective equipment which include boots, gloves, helmets, pants, coats, hoods and traffic safety vests.

—Will James et al.

Part of the grant will be used for training in the use of personal protective equipment, for use by officers in the event of a chemical- or oil-related incident.

—Rich Hewitt

While the global plastic waste problem has long been out of control, Covid-19 has intensified our use of single-use plastics, pushing the issue to new heights. The waste includes test kits and personal protection equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves, the vast majority of which comes from hospitals, rather than individual use.

—Victoria Burrows

—abbreviation PPE

Examples of personal protective equipment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The health department required the facility to use personal protective equipment when cleaning and disinfecting areas impacted by the outbreak. —Jeff A. Chamer, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2024

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) provided recommendations for personal protective equipment and is monitoring the health of those in direct contact with the infected goats. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 20 Mar. 2024

Complying with the new rules is estimated to cost private businesses roughly $230 million a year, including expenses for medical surveillance, air monitoring and personal protective equipment, according to regulators. —Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024

The fungus generally spreads through contact with contaminated surfaces, making gloves and other personal protective equipment, as well as hand washing, crucial to controlling transmission. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Feb. 2024

Similar proposals came from Europe and Japan, where there was also a growing desire to re-shore supply chains, to end reliance on China for medical equipment such as masks and personal protective equipment. —Henry Sanderson, Foreign Affairs, 2 Jan. 2024

Operation Shields Up is tackling the shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and the community through crowdsourcing new, innovative partnerships. —Mitchel Bobo, Sacramento Bee, 30 Jan. 2024

Outdoor activity did not require any large deployment of personal protective equipment. —Martin Weil, Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2023

In a report last year, government officials acknowledged that more than half of the 12 billion pounds (about $15 billion) spent on personal protective equipment in the first year of the pandemic was wasted on unusable gear that didn’t meet official standards or was unsuitable. —Leo Sands, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

personal protective equipment

noun

variants also personal protection equipment

: protective devices, garments, or coverings (such as respirators, face shields, or gloves) that are worn especially by workers to minimize exposure to hazards that may cause injury or illness

Personal protective equipment should be simple to remove after use without contaminating the user. … It should be disposable whenever possible and disposed of appropriately, immediately after removal.

—T. M. Cook, Anaesthesia

In the attempt to prevent the spread of a viral infection to and from healthcare workers, the health community generally relies on the efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE): gloves, masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, and gowns.

—Ivo Boškoski et al., Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

—abbreviation PPE