1
: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
2
: a state of mental or physical sluggishness : torpor
plural comae
ˈkō-ˌmē 
-ˌmī
1
: a tufted bunch (as of branches, bracts, or seed hairs)
2
: the head of a comet consisting of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus
3
: an optical aberration in which the image of a point source is a comet-shaped blur
Examples of coma in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 29 Nov. 2025
In early October, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images of 3I/ATLAS as a fuzzy white ball, revealing its dust-and-ice coma, from about 90 million miles (145 million km) away.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 28 Nov. 2025
She’s currently stuck inside of the version of Hawkins in Vecna’s mind while trapped in her coma dream-walking and been adapting to that time period.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 28 Nov. 2025
She's been unconscious and in a coma since, totally unresponsive, despite Lucas' many attempts to wake her up.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Set months after the season four finale, the final season premiere shows just how much has changed since Max fell into a coma — except for Max, who is still comatose as the story begins.
—Josh Wigler, HollywoodReporter, 29 Nov. 2025
In early October, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images of 3I/ATLAS as a fuzzy white ball, revealing its dust-and-ice coma, from about 90 million miles (145 million km) away.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 28 Nov. 2025
She’s currently stuck inside of the version of Hawkins in Vecna’s mind while trapped in her coma dream-walking and been adapting to that time period.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 28 Nov. 2025
She's been unconscious and in a coma since, totally unresponsive, despite Lucas' many attempts to wake her up.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
Cite this Entry
“Coma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coma. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coma
1 of 2 noun
co·ma
ˈkō-mə
: a sleeplike state of unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
coma
2 of 2 noun
plural comae
-ˌmē
-ˌmī
: the head of a comet made up of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus
Etymology
Noun
scientific Latin, from Greek kōma "deep sleep"
Noun
from Latin coma "hair," from Greek komē "hair" — related to comet
Medical Definition
coma
noun
co·ma
ˈkō-mə
: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share