altitude sickness

noun

Definition of altitude sickness

: the effects (such as headache, nausea, or swelling of the brain) of oxygen deficiency in the blood and tissues developed at high altitudes having reduced atmospheric pressure — see mountain sickness

Examples of altitude sickness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nepal's top tourism body maintains this year's deaths were due to extreme physical weakness, weather adversity, high altitude sickness and accident -- and not the overcrowding. Sugam Pokharel And Julia Hollingsworth, CNN, "Nepal is banning single-use plastic in the Everest region," 22 Aug. 2019 Eleven people died this year on Mount Everest -- including 9 in Nepal -- likely due to altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can lead to headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. Fox News, "Mount Everest climbers to face new rules after deadly season," 15 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'altitude sickness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of altitude sickness

1901, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for altitude sickness

altitude sickness

noun
al·​ti·​tude sickness | \ ˌal-tə-ˌt(y)üd- How to pronounce altitude sickness (audio) \

Medical Definition of altitude sickness

: the effects (as nosebleed, nausea, headache, or cerebral edema) of oxygen deficiency in the blood and tissues developed at high altitudes with reduced atmospheric pressure
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