gurney

noun

gur·​ney ˈgər-nē How to pronounce gurney (audio)
plural gurneys
: a wheeled cot or stretcher

Examples of gurney in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to police sources, some bodies were laid in plastic bags on gurneys while others were on shelves alongside miscellaneous equipment like spray cans and cardboard boxes. — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026 Two years ago, the state of Alabama decided to start killing people on death row by asphyxiation, via nitrogen gas fed into the lungs until the masked person strapped to the gurney expires. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026 Video obtained by the Daily News shows police assisting EMS in lifting the wounded detective off the street, where blood can be seen pooling along the curb, and onto a gurney. — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026 In another, a prisoner, already strapped to the gurney, urged the team to try a vein near his hand. — New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gurney

Word History

Etymology

probably ultimately from Gurney cab type of horse-drawn cab with a rear entrance, from J. Theodore Gurney, who patented such a cab in Boston in 1883

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gurney was in 1939

Rhymes for gurney

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Browse Nearby Words

Gurnee
gurney
Gurneyite
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Cite this Entry

“Gurney.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gurney. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Medical Definition

gurney

noun
gur·​ney ˈgər-nē How to pronounce gurney (audio)
plural gurneys
: a wheeled cot or stretcher
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