triage
Triage (noun) means the process of sorting people or things by urgency or importance to decide what gets attention first. Example: “Nurses perform triage in the emergency room to treat the most critical patients first.”
How to use triage
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDeciding what needs urgent attention first, whether that's patients in a hospital or tasks in a busy workload.
Word forms
triaged past tense, triages plural, triages singular
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Nurses perform _____ in the emergency room to treat the most critical patients first.
Etymology
From French triage, "sorting," from trier, "to sort or pick out" — originally used for grading coffee beans before it became standard medical vocabulary.
Rhymes for triage
See all rhymes for triage →Frequently asked questions
What does “triage” mean?
The word “triage” means the process of sorting people or things by urgency or importance to decide what gets attention first. In plain terms, deciding what needs urgent attention first, whether that's patients in a hospital or tasks in a busy workload.
How do you pronounce “triage”?
“Triage” is pronounced TREE-ahzh (/ˈtɹi.ɑʒ/ in IPA).
How do you use “triage” in a sentence?
Here is “triage” used in a sentence: “Nurses perform triage in the emergency room to treat the most critical patients first.”
What part of speech is “triage”?
Depending on how it is used, “triage” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “triage” come from?
The word “triage” comes from French. From French triage, "sorting," from trier, "to sort or pick out" — originally used for grading coffee beans before it became standard medical vocabulary.
How many meanings does “triage” have?
“Triage” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the process of sorting people or things by urgency or importance to decide what gets attention first.