vital signs
plural nounDefinition of vital signs
1
: signs of life
… frightened even more by the fact that a few months ago you were clinically dead—that's right, dead—all vital signs gone.— Asa Baber
specifically
: the pulse rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and blood pressure of a person
Her vital signs and findings from physical examination were normal, and she was not hospitalized. — John P. Hanrahan et al.
2
: measurable variables considered to indicate the general state or condition of something
The economy's vital signs are stronger than they have been in years. Companies are posting jobs faster than they can find workers to fill them.— Ben Casselman He proposes that living things act as a single, coordinated entity that maintains the earth's temperature and other vital signs within very narrow limits that are to the entity's own benefit.— Michael Oppenheimer
The singular vital sign is sometimes used for a single sign or measurement.
The box … houses nine removable electronic modules, each of which monitors a specific vital sign, such as temperature, oil pressure, and the rpm of the power turbine and gas producer.— Jay Coyle
The singular form is also often used before another noun.
vital sign monitors vital sign data
Examples of vital signs in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That gave the society’s staff and volunteers an opportunity to check each book’s vital signs. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "Local history buffs rejoice: The D.C. historical society’s research collection is back," 28 Aug. 2019 My role as a Patient Care Tech (P.C.T.) includes taking vital signs, assisting patients with basic needs and transporting patients. — Jon Kelvey, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Q&A: Lisa Robinson, Carroll Hospital Patient Care Tech of 2019, is ‘the whole package’," 29 July 2019 In an accident, MDGo doesn't rely on personal information or sensors monitoring the vital signs of drivers and passengers. — Matthew Dolan, Detroit Free Press, "Israeli startup uses artificial intelligence to predict auto crash injuries," 22 July 2019 The app updates throughout the day, providing various vital signs (like the baby’s weight), and tracking growth and milestones. — Kate Thayer, chicagotribune.com, "Northwestern NICU app gives parents baby’s vital signs, updates to ease their minds," 18 July 2019 If the vital signs are good, the lines go up and down. — Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times, "Caleb Plant fights for his late mother and daughter as he forges path as world champion," 18 July 2019 The diocese says after 61 minutes without vital signs, the baby’s heart began beating and the child breathed normally, and the infant is now a healthy young child. — BostonGlobe.com, "Italian rescue ship docks in Italian port against ban," 6 July 2019 Nurses were not properly monitoring patients’ vital signs while administering blood transfusions, not only in the case of the patient who died, but also in 18 out of 33 other cases examined, the investigation found. — Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, "No one should die from a blood transfusion. So why did it happen at MD Anderson, the nation's top cancer hospital?," 26 June 2019 Pharmaceutical companies used the fifth vital sign campaign as a way to promote their opioid treatments. — STAT, "While addiction crisis raged, many surgeons overprescribed opioids, analysis shows," 21 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vital signs.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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