brain death

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noun

complete cessation of brain function as evidenced by absence of brain-wave activity on an electroencephalogram: sometimes used as a legal definition of death.

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Origin of brain death

First recorded in 1965–70

OTHER WORDS FROM brain death

brain-dead

[breyn-ded], /ˈbreɪnˌdɛd/, adjective

Words nearby brain death

brain cell, brainchild, brain coral, brain damage, braindead, brain death, brain drain, Braine, brained, Brainerd, brainfag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brain death in a sentence

The research team were cautious, using a patient who had suffered brain death, attaching the kidney to the outside of the body, and closely monitoring for only a limited amount of time.
Surgeons have successfully tested a pig’s kidney in a human patient|Charlotte Jee|October 20, 2021|MIT Technology Review
It can spot seizures, monitor sleep and even help determine brain death.
How Hans Berger’s quest for telepathy spurred modern brain science|Laura Sanders|July 6, 2021|Science News
Humans, for example, can sometimes go on breathing, metabolizing food and physically maturing even after clinical brain death, undercutting our medical and legal concepts of vitality.
The surprisingly elusive definition of ‘life’|Jacob Brogan|March 26, 2021|Washington Post
Different regions, and even different hospitals, have their own rules about determining brain death.
New guidance on brain death could ease debate over when life ends|Laura Sanders|August 10, 2020|Science News

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
The Muslim Cop Killed by Terrorists|Michael Daly|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Asia Bibi, as she is known, was arrested and sentenced to death.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The most notorious states are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where death is an acceptable legal remedy.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Father Joel Román Salazar died in a car crash in 2013; his death was ruled an accident, but the suspicion of foul play persists.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The death toll, which experts believe has been significantly undercut by secret burials, stands at 7,905.
The Race for the Ebola Vaccine|Abby Haglage|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the place where the Muscovite criminals are banished to, if they are not put to death.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
All the operations of her brain related themselves somehow to to-morrow afternoon.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Elyon is the name of an ancient Phœnician god, slain by his son El, no doubt the “first-born of death” in Job xviii.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Your sacrifice shall be the agony of agonies, the death of deaths, and yet you'll find yourself unable to resist.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Good is set against evil, and life against death: so also is the sinner against a just man.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for brain death

brain death

noun

irreversible cessation of respiration due to irreparable brain damage, even though the heart may continue beating with the aid of a mechanical ventilator: widely considered as the criterion of death

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for brain death

brain death

Permanent brain damage resulting in loss of brain function, manifested by cessation of breathing and other vital reflexes, unconsciousness with unresponsiveness to stimuli, absence of muscle activity, and a flat electroencephalogram for a predetermined length of time. Patients who are brain-dead may still exhibit normal function of the heart, lungs, and other vital organs if they are receiving artificial life support.