Phrase guide

life support

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

An artificial system designed to provide oxygen and other conditions necessary for human life in an inhospitable environment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The maintenance of vital functions of a critically ill or comatose person or a person undergoing surgery.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The equipment and special procedures used for life support.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A means of sustaining existence or continuation of something, usually in an artificial manner when it should have changed or terminated in its natural environment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

medical equipment that assists or replaces important bodily functions and so enables a patient to live who otherwise might not survive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the patient is on life support

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: life-support system

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: equipment

6

noun

Meaning 6

equipment that makes life possible in otherwise deadly environmental conditions

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the astronauts relied on their life-support systems

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: life-support system

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: equipment

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 生命支持系統 /生命支持系统 (shēngmìng zhīchí xìtǒng) — system for providing oxygen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 生命維持系統 /生命维持系统 (shēngmìng wéichí xìtǒng) — system for providing oxygen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 生命支持設備 /生命支持设备 (shēngmìng zhīchí shèbèi) — system for providing oxygen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 人工生命維持系統 /人工生命维持系统 — system for providing oxygen
  • Finnish: happilaitteisto — system for providing oxygen
  • German: Sauerstoffversorgung — system for providing oxygen
  • Russian: жизнеобеспе́че́ние (žizneobespéčénije) — system for providing oxygen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 維生 /维生 (wéishēng) — maintenance of vital functions
  • Finnish: elintoimintojen ylläpitäminen — maintenance of vital functions
  • German: lebenserhaltende Maßnahmen — maintenance of vital functions
  • Chinese Mandarin: 維生設備 /维生设备 (wéishēng shèbèi) — equipment and procedures
  • Finnish: elintoimintojen ylläpitäminen — equipment and procedures
  • German: lebenserhaltende Ausrüstung — equipment and procedures
  • German: lebenserhaltende Apparate — equipment and procedures
  • Chinese Mandarin: 人工維持 /人工维持 (réngōng wéichí) — figurative: means of sustaining existence
  • Finnish: hengityskone — figurative: means of sustaining existence
  • German: Tropf — figurative: means of sustaining existence