emerg
- 1The emergency department of a hospital, the unit that treats urgent and often serious medical cases.
She spent six hours in emerg waiting to see a doctor.
The nurse told us to go straight to emerg if the fever came back.
Note
Canadian English clips emergency to emerg, and the short form keeps its slangy feel even in news reporting. It works with or without the article, much as school does: paramedics walk into the emerg, while a patient simply goes to emerg. The Toronto Star of 2009 also uses it as a modifier, in emerg departments, though the full emergency department is the safer choice in formal writing.
The paramedics were stuck in the emerg for hours before a bed opened up.
Several emerg departments reported a rise in flu cases this week.
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Origin
A clipping (shortened form) of "emergency."