triage

[ tree-ahzh ]

noun

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.

adjective

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

   a triage officer.

verb (used with object)

, tri·aged, tri·ag·ing.

1. to act on or in by triage:

   to triage a crisis.

triage

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of triage¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of triage¹

C18 (in the sense: sorting (goods) according to quality): from French; see try , -age

Example Sentences

As casualties mounted, “front-line hospitals and triage clinics were throwing whatever they could at the injured soldiers to keep them alive,” says Ezra Barzilay, a physician who heads the Kyiv office of the U.S.

From Science Magazine

"As a result, this technology could be used in the future to offer virtual triage services in walk-in clinics, pharmacies, and community centers."

From Science Daily

At no point did the NHS have to impose a formal ‘national triage’, where someone was refused treatment because they could not get a hospital bed.

From BBC

"I kept having issues in the pregnancy and triage took ages – they wouldn’t get back until a day later," she said.

From BBC

Courts have tried to triage the shortage by assigning the court reporters they do have to the most serious cases, such as felony trials.

From Los Angeles Times