gurney: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Low-mediumFormal, technical (medical/emergency services)
Quick answer
What does “gurney” mean?
A wheeled stretcher used in hospitals to transport patients.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A wheeled stretcher used in hospitals to transport patients.
Any wheeled trolley or stretcher used for moving immobile people, typically in a medical or emergency context. Sometimes used informally for similar trolleys in other settings (e.g., morgues).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
'Gurney' is primarily American English. The standard British English equivalent is 'trolley' or specifically 'hospital trolley' or 'wheeled stretcher'.
Connotations
In AmE, it carries standard medical/clinical connotations. In BrE, the word is recognized but sounds distinctly American; using it in the UK might mark the speaker as using American media-influenced terminology.
Frequency
Very frequent in American medical/emergency contexts; rare in British English outside of exposure to American media (films, TV shows).
Grammar
How to Use “gurney” in a Sentence
push/roll a gurneybe on a gurneytransfer from the gurney to the bedwheel the gurney into the operating roomVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “gurney” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- Not used as a verb.
American English
- Not used as a verb.
adverb
British English
- Not used as an adverb.
American English
- Not used as an adverb.
adjective
British English
- Not used as an adjective.
American English
- Not used as an adjective.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used in medical/nursing textbooks and papers.
Everyday
Used when discussing hospital experiences or medical TV shows.
Technical
Standard term in American healthcare, emergency medicine, and paramedic protocols.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “gurney”
- Using 'gurney' to refer to a shopping trolley (AmE: 'cart', BrE: 'trolley').
- Spelling as 'gurnee' or 'gurny'.
- Using it as a verb ('They gurneyed the patient').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The etymology is uncertain. It likely originated in early 20th-century American English, possibly from the name of a manufacturer or a variant of 'guarney', an obsolete term for a horse-drawn cab, linking to the idea of transport.
No, 'gurney' is strictly a noun in standard English. You 'push', 'wheel', or 'transport someone on' a gurney.
British English speakers typically use 'trolley', 'hospital trolley', or the more specific 'wheeled stretcher'.
Not exactly. All gurneys are a type of stretcher, but not all stretchers are gurneys. A 'gurney' specifically implies a wheeled frame, whereas a 'stretcher' can be a simple portable bed carried by people.
A wheeled stretcher used in hospitals to transport patients.
Gurney is usually formal, technical (medical/emergency services) in register.
Gurney: in British English it is pronounced /ˈɡɜːni/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈɡɜːrni/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No common idioms]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'The journey (sounds like gurney) to the operating room is on a wheeled bed.'
Conceptual Metaphor
A GURNEY IS A VEHICLE FOR THE VULNERABLE (it transports immobile patients as a car transports passengers).
Practice
Quiz
In which context are you most likely to encounter the word 'gurney'?