What does gurney mean?
A gurney is a wheeled stretcher used to move patients who are injured, ill, or unable to walk. It is particularly associated with hospitals, emergency departments, and ambulances, where a flat, padded platform on wheels allows medical staff to transport someone efficiently and with less risk of additional injury. The word is common in North American English and is also used in British English, although “stretcher” may be preferred in some formal or regional contexts. “Gurney” originally came from the name of the American inventor associated with this style of stretcher and began life as a proprietary medical brand name. Through widespread use, it became genericized and is now normally written as an ordinary lowercase noun. In everyday conversation, the term is practical and direct rather than literary: saying that someone was “put on a gurney” immediately communicates that the person is being transported for medical care.
nounA wheeled stretcher used to transport a patient, especially in a hospital or ambulance.
- A wheeled stretcher used to transport a patient, especially in a hospital or ambulance.
"The paramedics lifted the injured patient onto a gurney."
"The hospital porter pushed the patient along the corridor on a gurney."
"She was brought into the emergency department on a gurney after the accident."
The usual plural when referring to more than one patient trolley or stretcher.
"The emergency department had two gurneys ready for incoming patients."
A once-proprietary medical brand name became so widely used that it now sounds like an ordinary word.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gurney come from?
The word derives from the surname Gurney, used for a wheeled stretcher associated with the American inventor James H. Gurney. The stretcher and its proprietary name spread through medical practice during the nineteenth century. Although “Gurney” began as a brand name, it became so widely adopted that it was genericized and is now used as a common noun for a hospital or ambulance stretcher.
How gurney is actually used
The term is especially common in American healthcare settings, though it is also understood in British English. It can sound informal or technical when used in conversation, while medical professionals use it routinely. Although it originated as a brand name, it is now treated as a common noun.
Easily confused with gurney
A gurney is specifically a wheeled medical stretcher, while stretcher is the broader term for a device used to carry a person who cannot walk or must remain lying down.
A trolley is a general wheeled cart or platform, whereas a gurney is a padded medical stretcher designed for transporting patients.