medevac

American  

[med-uh-vak] / ˈmɛd əˌvæk /

Or Medevac,

noun

1. a helicopter for evacuating the wounded from a battlefield.

2. an ambulance or other vehicle equipped for emergency transport of medical patients.

3. any of the trained personnel transporting or otherwise tending to the sick or wounded in a medevac.

---

verb (used with object)

medevacked, medevacking

1. to transport (sick or wounded persons) by medevac.

medevac British  

/ ˈmɛdɪˌvæk /

noun

1. military the evacuation of casualties from forward areas to the nearest hospital or base

2. a helicopter used for transporting wounded or sick people to hospital

---

verb

1. (tr) to transport (a wounded or sick person) to hospital by medevac

Etymology

Origin of medevac

1965–70, med(ical) evac(uation) ; presumably by ellipsis from medevac helicopter

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

medevac medevacked

Skytraders deputy chief executive Duncan Mackay told the Australian newspaper the plane had undergone a complete refit into a specialised medevac configuration within 24 hours of the call.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The cost of a medevac helicopter was in the tens of thousands of dollars.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

I flew down immediately and found a medevac plane to fly her home to Portland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Dan Anderson, an instructor pilot for Cal Fire, spent decades in the Army and flew medevac helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024

He told me that everyone talked about John and the medevac flight.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Early Friday, a rescue helicopter and two mountaineering rangers were able to rescue the injured climber, who was later medevacked for additional care.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024

"We were told there was a child being medevacked to Tampa General, but he was not expected to live," Blair said in a video shared by the sheriff’s office.

From Fox News ● Jul. 28, 2021

“There was a Department of Defense official from the U.S. Embassy in Russia that had to be medevacked from the U.S. Embassy out of Russia,” said Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2019

I have sometimes felt wobbly after an interview, but not until my hour with Jackson had I felt the need to be medevacked to safety.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2019

“But in a couple days, I had convulsions and collapsed. After this, they medevacked me to hospitals in Saudi Arabia and Germany, and then to the U.S.”

From Newsweek ● Mar. 27, 2015