medevac

1 of 2

noun

med·​e·​vac ˈme-də-ˌvak 

-dē-

variants or less commonly medivac

1

: emergency evacuation of the sick or wounded (as from a combat area)

2

: a helicopter used for medevac

medevac

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly medivac

medevaced also medivaced or medevacked or medivacked; medevacing also medivacing or medevacking or medivacking

transitive verb

: to transport in a medevac helicopter

Examples of medevac in a Sentence

Noun

The wounded soldiers were evacuated by medevac to the hospital.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Not all parks have search-and-rescue workers at the ready, and extreme heat can prevent medevac helicopters from operating, so park visitors who put themselves at risk may be left stranded. —Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 17 June 2024

He was wounded twice in Vietnam and had to be taken to Japan on a medevac helicopter. —Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 27 May 2024

Verb

He was medevaced to Nome, where doctors evaluated him and decided to again medevac him to Anchorage for additional care. —Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Sep. 2022

Marine One landed at the White House to medevac Trump to Walter Reed. —Matt Egan, CNN, 5 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

medical evacuation

First Known Use

Noun

1966, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1969, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

medevac

1 of 2 noun

med·​e·​vac

variants also medivac

ˈmed-ə-ˌvak 

1

: emergency evacuation of the sick or wounded (as from a combat area)

2

: a helicopter used for medevac

medevac

2 of 2 transitive verb

medevacked; medevacking

: to transport in a medevac helicopter