Meaning & use
blue light hospital
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritishinformal
A hospital that receives emergency ambulances and treats serious or life-threatening cases, especially in Britain.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a blue light hospital' or 'two blue light hospitals'. It is often used with 'the' when referring to a specific one.
Patterns
- a blue light hospital
- at the blue light hospital
- blue light hospitals (plural)
The injured driver was taken to the nearest blue light hospital.
During the strike, only blue light hospitals stayed fully open.
She works as a nurse at a busy blue light hospital in London.
Word forms
| plural | blue light hospitals |
|---|
Common combinations
- at a blue light hospital
- He was treated at a blue light hospital after the crash.
- nearest blue light hospital
- The ambulance took her to the nearest blue light hospital.
- blue light hospital services
- The government promised more funding for blue light hospital services.
- a busy blue light hospital
- Staff at the busy blue light hospital worked through the night.
- designated blue light hospital
- This clinic is not a designated blue light hospital, so it cannot handle major emergencies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- emergency hospital
- A more general term used in many countries; 'blue light hospital' is specifically British and emphasizes the use of blue flashing lights on ambulances.
- trauma center
- Used especially in the US for a hospital equipped to handle severe injuries; it does not necessarily imply the British context of 'blue light hospital'.
Commonly confused: blue light hospital or blue-light hospital?
blue light hospital vs blue-light hospital
The hyphenated form is sometimes seen, but the standard spelling is two words without a hyphen. Both refer to the same type of hospital.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'blue light hospital' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 is correct because 'blue light hospital' refers to a hospital that treats emergencies, and 'rushed to' fits the context. Option 1 is wrong because a blue light hospital is not a vehicle. Option 2 is wrong because a person cannot be a hospital. Option 3 is wrong because a hospital is a building, not a household item.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blue light hospital”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.