co ‧ ma /ˈkəʊmə $ ˈkoʊ-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Modern Latin ; Origin: Greek koma 'deep sleep' ]
someone who is in a coma has been unconscious for a long time, usually because of a serious illness or injury
be in/go into/come out of a coma
He went into a coma and died soon afterwards.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ be in a coma
His son had been in a coma for three and a half years.
▪ go into a coma
Mum went into a coma and died soon afterwards.
▪ slip/lapse/fall/sink into a coma (=go into one)
Brett slipped into a coma from which he never awakened.
▪ relapse into a coma (=go into a coma again)
She was making progress, but then she suddenly relapsed into a coma.
▪ come out of a coma ( also emerge from a coma formal )
Alice wanted to be there when he came out of his coma.
■ adjectives
▪ a deep coma
After the accident, she spent ten days in a deep coma.
▪ an irreversible coma (=a permanent one)
He had been in an irreversible coma since the disaster.
■ coma + NOUN
▪ a coma victim (=someone who is in a coma)
There are various techniques for helping coma victims to regain consciousness.
▪ a coma patient
a long-term coma patient