Link Centre Dictionary

emergency

emer·gency

UK/ɪˈmɜː(ɹ).dʒən.si/ US/ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/ common

noun

1.

a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action

  • “he never knew what to do in an emergency”
Synonyms
2.

a state in which martial law applies

  • “the governor declared a state of emergency”
3.

Origin

Borrowed from Medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergens, present participle of emergo (“to emerge, arise, come forth”), equivalent to emergent + -cy or emerge + -ency. Doublet of emergence.

Phrases

  • accident and emergency
  • climate emergency
  • emergency brake
  • emergency cord
  • emergency department
  • emergency dispatch center
  • emergency entrance
  • emergency escape

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.