hypoxic

adjective

hyp·​ox·​ic hi-ˈpäk-sik 

hī-

1

medical : of, relating to, or affected with hypoxia : resulting from, causing, or experiencing inadequate levels of oxygen in the tissues and cells of the body

She was then transferred to Tufts Medical Center with hypokalemia, hyperglycemia, and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy—abnormal brain function from oxygen deprivation—and seizures.

—Rebecca Everett

At altitudes up to ten thousand feet, the mild hypoxic effects encountered do not materially deteriorate our flying ability …

—Joseph W. Benkert

The Australian looks slightly hypoxic, as if he is finding the atmosphere up here in the Northern Hemisphere a trifle thin.

—Craig S. Karpel

2

: characterized by reduced levels of dissolved oxygen

Hypoxic conditions, which occur when dissolved oxygen concentrations are less than 2 mg/L, can cause stress or death in bottom-dwelling organisms that cannot leave the zone.

—Donald A. Goolsby

Also, the loss of herbivorous cichlids has contributed to colossal algae blooms in the lake, which suck oxygen from the water and create huge hypoxic zones.

—Mark Jerome Walters

Examples of hypoxic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To further the success rate, the mountaineering community has embraced a new series of preparation strategies and climbing infrastructure, specifically hypoxic tents for pre-acclimatization and helicopter shuttles to ferry expedition teams from Kathmandu to base camps. —Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 6 June 2022

Domination of fast muscle fibers and phasic movements forms the fetal strategy to survive in heating, strongly hypoxic, albeit normal for fetus, immersion. —Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2013

But researchers have documented crab die-offs that appear linked to hypoxic events. —Julia Rosen, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined at sense 1