coma

1 of 2

noun (1)

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

1

: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison

2

: a state of mental or physical sluggishness : torpor

coma

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural comae ˈkō-ˌmē 

-ˌmī

1

: a tufted bunch (as of branches, bracts, or seed hairs)

2

: the head of a comet consisting of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus

3

: an optical aberration in which the image of a point source is a comet-shaped blur

comatic

kō-ˈma-tik 

adjective

Examples of coma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But Sue, loving her success, has instead kept Elisabeth in her coma state for months, slowly sucking the life out of her. —Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025

On Christmas Day, Sierra reported that after nearly a week in a coma, Samy could breathe without assistance, and was able to smile, wave, and offer a thumb's up. —Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 30 Dec. 2024

Deepest sleeper Our championship week sleeper is a fellow whose career appeared to be in a deep coma just a couple of months ago. —Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 29 Dec. 2024

However, Mandt's latest findings suggest that earlier measurements may have been distorted by the presence of dust particles in the comet's coma—the gas-and-dust cloud surrounding its nucleus. —Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

New Latin, from Greek kōma deep sleep

Noun (2)

Latin, hair, from Greek komē

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing coma

• food coma

Kids Definition

coma

1 of 2 noun

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

: a sleeplike state of unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison

coma

2 of 2 noun

plural comae -ˌmē 

-ˌmī

: the head of a comet made up of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus

Etymology

Noun

scientific Latin, from Greek kōma "deep sleep"

Noun

from Latin coma "hair," from Greek komē "hair" — related to comet

Medical Definition

coma

noun

co·​ma ˈkō-mə 

: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison