triage

American  

[tree-ahzh] / triˈɑʒ /

noun

triages plural

1. the process of sorting victims, as of a battle or disaster, to determine medical priority in order to increase the number of survivors.

2. the determination of priorities for action.

   She began her workday with a triage of emails.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or performing the task of triage.

   a triage officer.

verb (used with object)

triaged, triaging

1. to act on or in by triage.

   to triage a crisis.

triage British  

/ ˌtriːˈɑːʒ, ˈtraɪ-, ˈtriːˌɑːʒ /

noun

1. (in a hospital) the principle or practice of sorting emergency patients into categories of priority for treatment

2. the principle or practice of sorting casualties in battle or disaster into categories of priority for treatment

3. the principle or practice of allocating limited resources, as of food or foreign aid, on a basis of expediency rather than according to moral principles or the needs of the recipients

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• triages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of triage

First recorded in 1925–30; from French: “a sorting,” from tri(er) “to sort” ( cf. try) + -age -age

Explanation

Grouping patients based on the severity of their injuries and the likelihood of their survival is called triage. In a triage situation, urgent cases are seen by doctors first, and non-life-threatening emergencies go last. You can also apply the sorting and prioritizing of triage to more general situations. If you're overwhelmed with homework, you can perform triage by organizing it into subjects and prioritizing assignments based on their due dates. The word triage comes from the French word trier meaning to sort. Although the medical sense is now the most common, it wasn't used that way until World War One.

Example Sentences

Nearby buildings have been evacuated, and multiple ambulances and a triage area are set up in case of any injuries.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and others also offer cheaper versions of their flagship models, and Factory and others have developed systems to help companies triage queries and steer some tasks to cheaper options.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

He said Target’s turnaround appeared to be working, but that it needed to “move on from triage to full-scale growth.”

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

"Setting up an appropriate area for triage and isolation was our main concern," Bamunoba said.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

One day a North Vietnamese soldier was brought into triage, and Adams was asked to take care of him.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge