1
: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
2
: a state of mental or physical sluggishness : torpor
plural comae
ˈkō-ˌmē 
-ˌmī
1
: a tufted bunch (as of branches, bracts, or seed hairs)
2
: the head of a comet consisting of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus
3
: an optical aberration in which the image of a point source is a comet-shaped blur
Examples of coma in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kayti Burt, Time, 25 July 2025
Seven days ago, Daily responded to rumors that Hogan was in a coma on Instagram.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
Lucky for Madison, her childhood friend Nika beats the officer off with a blow to his head, which leaves him hospitalized in a coma, and the two young women the focus of an escalating police manhunt.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2025
Plenty of cosmic rays peppering the images, but the comet's coma looks very nice and puffy.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
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Noun
Advertisement Does Moon Baek die at the end of Trigger?
Baek is in a coma following the events of the firefight.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 25 July 2025
Seven days ago, Daily responded to rumors that Hogan was in a coma on Instagram.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
Lucky for Madison, her childhood friend Nika beats the officer off with a blow to his head, which leaves him hospitalized in a coma, and the two young women the focus of an escalating police manhunt.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2025
Plenty of cosmic rays peppering the images, but the comet's coma looks very nice and puffy.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for coma
Cite this Entry
“Coma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coma. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
coma
1 of 2 noun
co·ma
ˈkō-mə
: a sleeplike state of unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
coma
2 of 2 noun
plural comae
-ˌmē
-ˌmī
: the head of a comet made up of a cloud of gas and dust and usually containing a nucleus
Etymology
Noun
scientific Latin, from Greek kōma "deep sleep"
Noun
from Latin coma "hair," from Greek komē "hair" — related to comet
Medical Definition
coma
noun
co·ma
ˈkō-mə
: a state of profound unconsciousness caused by disease, injury, or poison
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