triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌäzh 

1

a

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

b

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

2

: the assigning of priority order to projects on the basis of where funds and other resources can be best used, are most needed, or are most likely to achieve success

triage transitive verb

Examples of triage in a Sentence

Nurses do triage in the emergency room.

Recent Examples on the Web

Because many dark taxa are absent from training data sets, even the most advanced image-recognition models work best as triage—rapidly sorting through familiar taxa and flagging likely new discoveries for human taxonomists to investigate. —Marion Renault, The Atlantic, 29 Sep. 2025

But financial irregularities — which appear to be a factor in both companies’ struggles, as the Justice Department reportedly investigates Tricolor and Deloitte does triage on First Brands’ accounting — tend to be a bad sign for the economy. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025

At various hospitals and clinics, high patient numbers, as well as limited medical equipment or staff training, can make triage flawed or nonexistent. —Brian Simpson, NPR, 19 Sep. 2025

Prison staff moved him to a triage unit, where he was later pronounced dead, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, sorting, sifting, from trier to sort, from Old French — more at try entry 1

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

triage

noun

tri·​age trē-ˈäzh  ˈtrē-ˌ 

1

: the sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors

2

: the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care

triage transitive verb