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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Medical Emergencies

Pass out

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˌpæs ˈaʊt/phrasal verbCore term

In emergency medicine & first aid, pass out means: To become unconscious for a short time, for example from heat, pain, fear or standing up too quickly; an informal way of saying faint.

In Turkish: bayılmak, kendinden geçmek

How it is used

Used by patients, families and callers, while clinicians write 'syncope' or 'loss of consciousness' (LOC). Similar everyday words are 'faint' and 'black out'. Crews ask whether the person passed out before or after a fall, because the answer changes the likely cause.

Example sentences

  1. I stood up from the table and just passed out.

  2. Did he pass out before or after he hit his head?

Common collocations

  • pass out briefly
  • nearly pass out
  • pass out from the heat
  • pass out cold
  • collapseTo fall down suddenly because of illness or weakness, often becoming unconscious; it is also used as a noun for the event.
  • unconsciousNot awake and not aware of what is happening, so that the person cannot respond normally to voices or touch.
  • come roundTo become conscious again after fainting, a seizure, an injury or an anesthetic.
  • hypoglycemiaA blood sugar level that is too low, most often in people with diabetes, causing shaking, sweating, confusion and sometimes seizures or unconsciousness.

More terms: Medical Emergencies

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.