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intensive care

American

noun

the use of specialized equipment and personnel for continuous monitoring and care of the critically ill.

intensive care British

noun

extensive and continuous care and treatment provided for an acutely ill patient, usually in a specially designated section ( intensive care unit ) of a hospital

"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

Etymology

Origin of intensive care

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

intensive care

The Ojai Raptor Center reported a dip in Big Bear bald eagle Jackie’s blood values, leaving the livestream star in intensive care as experts work to find a cause.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

This co-operation is illustrated by one of its first cases of Ebola, a nurse who contracted the virus while working in an intensive care unit in Kampala.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

He asked her to continue caring for the babies while they were in intensive care.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye is in intensive care in hospital, his wife and medical sources said on Thursday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

It has been a difficult month: a rotation in neonatal intensive care.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023