first aid

noun

1. emergency aid or treatment given to someone injured, suddenly ill, etc., before regular medical services arrive or can be reached.

first aid

noun

1. 1. immediate medical assistance given in an emergency
   2. ( as modifier )

      first-aid box

2. (in Barbados) a small shop that sells domestic items after hours

Other Words From

• first-aid adjective
• first-aider noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of first aid¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

In addition, visitors should pack plenty of layers, a personal first aid kit, and food for the day.

From Outside Online

They also made a mini oxygen mask with first aid tape, and a baby-size beanie out of one passenger’s worn Reebok sock.

From Washington Post

Between the time of Stanberry’s accident and Young’s death, more than 50 people were injured at the hub seriously enough to require treatment beyond first aid, according to the OSHA logs.

From ProPublica

My only real expenses have been things like first-aid kits, water-purification tablets, batteries, walkie talkies and the like.

From The Daily Beast

The marathon is a 26-mile-long feeding, hydrating, first-aid, and security system.

From The Daily Beast

Forerunner of the many first-aid classes to come was that hour of Mabel's, and made memorable by one thing she said.

From Project Gutenberg

Here I was given a first-aid dressing and immediately after carried away to an old-fashioned village behind the lines.

From Project Gutenberg

As she left for the first-aid cabinet, Houston thought bleakly to himself: Harris was framed.

From Project Gutenberg

Their wounds—three, four, or five days old—have yet received no attention save the primitive first-aid of the battlefield.

From Project Gutenberg

Instead, he carried several canteens of water and his blouse was stuffed with first-aid bandages.

From Project Gutenberg