Meaning & use
intubated
Last updated
“intubated” is a form of “intubate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivenot comparablemedical
Having a tube placed through the mouth or nose into the windpipe to help with breathing.
Grammar: Used after a linking verb like be, or before a noun: The patient was intubated. / an intubated patient.
Patterns
- be intubated
- an intubated patient
The patient was intubated in the emergency room after struggling to breathe.
Intubated patients need close monitoring in the intensive care unit.
She remained intubated for three days before the tube was removed.
verbtransitivemedical
Past tense and past participle of intubate: to put a breathing tube into someone's windpipe.
Grammar: Takes an object: The doctor intubated the patient. In passive: The patient was intubated.
Patterns
- intubate someone
- be intubated
The anesthesiologist intubated the patient before surgery began.
They intubated him quickly when his oxygen levels dropped.
He was intubated on arrival and transferred to the ICU.
Word forms
| base form | intubate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | intubates |
| past tense | intubated |
| past participle | intubated |
| present participle | intubating |
Common combinations
- be intubated
- The patient was intubated to protect her airway.
- intubated patient
- Intubated patients cannot speak, so they need other ways to communicate.
- remain intubated
- He remained intubated for a week.
- emergency intubation
- Emergency intubation saved his life.
- intubate someone
- The doctor decided to intubate the child immediately.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ventilated
- Ventilated means a machine is breathing for the patient; intubated specifically means a tube is in the windpipe, which is often needed for ventilation.
- tubed
- Tubed is informal and less precise; intubated is the standard medical term.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: intubated or incubated?
intubated vs incubated
Incubated means kept warm to help growth (e.g., eggs or bacteria); intubated means having a breathing tube inserted.
Practice
The patient was ___ after his breathing became dangerously shallow.
Choose one answer.
Intubated is the correct past participle: a tube was put into his windpipe. Incubated means kept warm, extubated means the tube was removed (the opposite), and intubating is the present participle, which does not fit after 'was' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intubated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.