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

Of course a world of Fitbits, predictive advertising, and algorithmic air strikes would turn compassion into a form of top-down global triage. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Phoenix police are implementing an AI system to triage nonemergency calls starting Aug. 13. —Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 13 Aug. 2025

One way to think of such precision filtering with real-time data is triage, a concept well-known to the medical world. —Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Multiple visits to maternity triage didn't raise alarm bells—until a routine midwife appointment told Varley and partner Alex Beck that their baby was measuring small. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 July 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