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respiratory failure

British

noun

a condition in which the respiratory system is unable to provide an adequate supply of oxygen or to remove carbon dioxide efficiently

"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

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.

In one instance, it referred a case of impending respiratory failure to overnight evaluation instead of an ER.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

She died the next day of respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

At Mount SAC, for instance, classrooms have high-tech mannequins that can be programmed to blink, shriek and simulate a variety of medical conditions, including heart attacks, bleeding, respiratory failure — even giving birth.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2025

He was shocked to see the name of his older brother, Dale, a forklift truck-operator who had died of respiratory failure a year earlier.

From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025

She died at once from respiratory failure, in spite of restorative measures.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 1157, March 5, 1898 by Various

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