life-support

[lahyf-suh-pawrt, -pohrt]

adjective

1. of or relating to equipment or measures that sustain or artificially substitute for essential body functions, as breathing or disposal of body wastes.

   Without life-support equipment, the patient might die.

2. of or relating to equipment or measures that provide, within a surrounding hostile environment, as outer space or ocean depths, a life-sustaining environment similar to that found on the earth's surface.

   the life-support system of a spacecraft or submarine.

3. of or relating to anything that fosters or sustains life, success, or continued existence, as of a person, thing, or nation.

   the life-support system of the economy.

life-support

adjective

1. of or providing the equipment required to sustain human life in an unnatural environment, such as in space, or in severe illness or disability

Word History and Origins

Origin of life-support¹

First recorded in 1955–60