emergency
[ ih-mur-juhn-see ]
/ ɪˈmɜr dʒən si /
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.
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RELATED WORDS
difficulty, crunch, accident, necessity, tension, distress, misadventure, climax, strait, juncture, pass, plight, depression, fix, scrape, vicissitude, compulsion, exigency, pressure, hole
Nearby words
Origin of emergency
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.
Related formsnon·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
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
Word Origin and History for emergency
emergency
"unforeseen occurrence requiring immediate attention," 1630s, from Latin emergens, present participle of emergere (see emerge). Or from emerge + -ency.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper