recovery room

American  

noun

1. a room near the operating or delivery room of a hospital, equipped with specific apparatus and staffed by specially trained personnel for emergencies, used for the recovery from anesthesia of a postoperative or obstetrical patient before being brought to a hospital room or ward.

---

Etymology

Origin of recovery room

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

For the ultimate in relaxation, there is a recovery room equipped with a sauna, cold plunge, and hot tub.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 14, 2025

"The patient became cyanotic with blue lips, movements stopped, the muscles relaxed, deep breathing followed, cyanosis waned, and color returned to the lips as the patient was moved to a recovery room."

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2023

When I woke up in the recovery room I was greeted with apple juice and a realization: I was fine.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2023

Video seen by the BBC shows Nael and other family members later being asked to leave the hospital by police and security staff, who told them they had entered a medical recovery room "without permission".

From BBC • May 20, 2022

We were having this conversation on a fine summer evening, sitting out on the little balcony of her recovery room.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro