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REFERENCE

ambulance

n. · v.
US //ˈæmbjəɫəns// UK //ˈæmbjʊləns// am·bu·lance
  1. 1 emergency vehicle (n.)
    A2 Elementary Medicine

    a vehicle used to take people who are very sick or hurt to a hospital quickly.

    a vehicle equipped for transporting the sick or injured, usually providing medical care during transit.

    Example

    The ambulance arrived within minutes and the paramedics began helping the driver.

    Example

    Witnesses called for an ambulance immediately after the collision, as several passengers appeared to have sustained serious injuries.
    • emergency vehicle
  2. 2 to transport by ambulance (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Medicine

    to move someone using an ambulance.

    to transport a patient via an ambulance vehicle. This transitive use is less common than the noun form.

    Example

    The patient was ambulanced to the city hospital for specialist surgery.

    Example

    Due to the severity of the spinal trauma, the victim was carefully ambulanced to the regional trauma centre under constant supervision.
Origin

Borrowed from French ambulance, which replaced hôpital ambulant (“moving hospital”) via the suffix -ance, from Latin ambulō (“to walk; to go about”).

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