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vital function

American

noun

Physiology.

any function of the body that is essential for life.

Etymology

Origin of vital function

First recorded in 1795–1805

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.

But while it may have a new term, social-emotional learning has always been a vital function of education.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

"This finding was never anticipated. Chemokine-driven locomotion is a vital function of the immune system, but a totally different function as compared to the J chain!"

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2024

In many ways, celebrities perform a vital function, partly by providing material for the rest of us to dissect, praise, criticise and make into memes.

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2022

He acknowledged that the port plays a vital function, “but at what cost?”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 24, 2021

So far as man stands for anything, and is productive or originative at all, his entire vital function may be said to have to deal with maybes.

From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by James, William

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