triage

American  

[tree-ahzh] / triˈɑʒ /

noun

1. the process of sorting victims, as of a battle or disaster, to determine medical priority in order to increase the number of survivors.

2. the determination of priorities for action.

   She began her workday with a triage of emails.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or performing the task of triage.

   a triage officer.

verb (used with object)

triaged, triaging

1. to act on or in by triage.

   to triage a crisis.

triage British  

/ ˌtriːˈɑːʒ, ˈtraɪ-, ˈtriːˌɑːʒ /

noun

1. (in a hospital) the principle or practice of sorting emergency patients into categories of priority for treatment

2. the principle or practice of sorting casualties in battle or disaster into categories of priority for treatment

3. the principle or practice of allocating limited resources, as of food or foreign aid, on a basis of expediency rather than according to moral principles or the needs of the recipients

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Etymology

Origin of triage

First recorded in 1925–30; from French: “a sorting,” from tri(er) “to sort” ( try ) + -age -age

Example Sentences

She said the "triage service was frequently understaffed" and at Bedford around a quarter of calls went unanswered or abandoned by the caller due to wait times.

From BBC

"Our model can automate that process, triage the routine cases, and highlight anything unusual for human review."

From Science Daily

Never does “The Pitt” allow us to forget that the American dream is the invisible triage victim in this trauma center and the hundreds like it.

From Salon

Some of those details include having buy-in from the police, training dispatchers on how to triage calls, and integrating mental health staff.

From Los Angeles Times

At Good Samaritan, Maia limps into the ER, cons her way into priority triage, gets stitched up, and limps back out against the doctor’s orders.

From Salon