sudden infant death syndrome

noun

Pathology.

1. death from the sudden cessation of breathing (apnea) of a seemingly healthy infant, almost always during sleep, sometimes traceable to a chronic oxygen deficiency. SIDS

sudden infant death syndrome

noun

1. SIDS. a technical term for cot death

sudden infant death syndrome

1. A fatal condition that affects sleeping infants that are less than one year old and appear to be healthy. It is characterized by a sudden cessation of breathing and is thought to be caused by a defect in the central nervous system.

2. Also called crib death SIDS

sudden infant death syndrome

1. Also called crib death, the deaths of sleeping infants less than a year old for unexplained reasons.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sudden infant death syndrome¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Their youngest, Scott, died of sudden infant death syndrome aged two months.

Read more on BBC

One of their children, Scott, died at the age of two months from sudden infant death syndrome, CBS reports, and James, died of cancer in 2020.

Read more on BBC

Later, the court was told Vernon pretended the baby had died of sudden infant death syndrome.

Read more on BBC

Instead, he deferred to an emergency room doctor’s diagnosis of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

Read more on Salon

Evidence suggests there is a "strong link" between sudden infant death syndrome and inadequate sleeping arrangements.

Read more on BBC