emergency

[ ih-mur-juhn-see ]

/ ɪˈmɜr dʒən si /

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noun, plural e·mer·gen·cies.

a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action.

a state, especially of need for help or relief, created by some unexpected event: a weather emergency; a financial emergency.

adjective

granted, used, or for use in an emergency: an emergency leave; emergency lights.

Nearby words

emerald green, emerald isle, emerald moth, emerge, emergence, emergency, emergency boat, emergency brake, emergency medical technician, emergency medicine, emergency room

Origin of emergency

1625–35; < Medieval Latin ēmergentia, equivalent to ēmerg- (see emerge) + -entia -ency. See emergent

SYNONYMS FOR emergency

1 exigency, extremity, pinch, quandary, plight. Emergency, crisis, straits refer to dangerous situations. An emergency is a situation demanding immediate action: A power failure created an emergency in transportation. A crisis is a vital or decisive turning point in a condition or state of affairs, and everything depends on the outcome of it: Help arrived when affairs had reached a crisis. Strait (usually straits ) suggests a pressing situation, often one of need or want: The family was in desperate straits for food and clothing.

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Related forms

non·e·mer·gen·cy, adjective, noun, plural non·e·mer·gen·cies.post·e·mer·gen·cy, adjectivepre·e·mer·gen·cy, adjective, noun, plural pre·e·mer·gen·cies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for emergency

During an emergency that ratio could be allowed to drop to 8.5 people per orbit.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says|Dave Majumdar|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One specific kind of emergency is at the heart of this, such as when an airplane suffers a loss of stability at night.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Had they been properly trained, they could and should have flown themselves safely out of the emergency.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This suggests that the pilots were overtaken very rapidly by an emergency.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A click sends a user to a statement, a list of passenger nationalities, emergency call-center numbers, and other information.
The Presumed Crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Is Nothing Like MH370|Lennox Samuels|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This was a turn in the affair they had not anticipated, but they were evidently prepared to meet the emergency.
Cad Metti, The Female Detective Strategist|Harlan Page Halsey
Contrivance and expedient presented themselves,—all inadequate to the emergency.
Alone|Marion Harland
I inherited some of his cases, and Marbury was one of those who begged me to come in at the emergency.
The Blue Wall|Richard Washburn Child
The telephone operator was always testing one or another connection, day and night, for the emergency when it would be needed.
A Jewish Chaplain in France|Lee J. Levinger
After about an hour's groping in the dark, we found an emergency cabin near the Mud Geyser.
Down the Yellowstone|Lewis R. Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for emergency

emergency

/ (ɪˈmɜːdʒənsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

an unforeseen or sudden occurrence, esp of a danger demanding immediate remedy or action
(as modifier)an emergency exit

a patient requiring urgent treatment
(as modifier)an emergency ward

state of emergency a condition, declared by a government, in which martial law applies, usually because of civil unrest or natural disaster

NZ a player selected to stand by to replace an injured member of a team; reserve

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