diagnoses

Noun

diagnosis (countable and uncountable, plural diagnoses)

1. The process of, or an instance of, identification of the nature and cause of a medical condition or illness.
   • Diagnosis is a challenging art informed by wide-ranging science.
2. The process of, or an instance of, identification of the nature and cause of something (of any nature).
   • Diagnosis is part of being an automotive mechanic.
3. A written description of a species or other taxon serving to distinguish that species from all others; especially a description written and published in Latin.
   • The repeated exposure, over decades, to most taxa here treated has resulted in repeated modifications of both diagnoses and discussions, as initial ideas of the various taxa underwent—often repeated—conceptual modification.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page viii

See all 4 meanings of diagnosis

Verb

diagnose (third-person singular simple present diagnoses, present participle diagnosing, simple past and past participle diagnosed)

1. (transitive) To determine which disease is causing a sick person's signs and symptoms; to find the diagnosis.
2. (broadly) To determine the cause of a problem.
   • But in the early days of the scheme the new machines created some problems for the fitters, who found them over-complex and their faults hard to diagnose after many years' experience of small, simple steam locomotives.1962 October, M. J. Wilson, “Three years of dieselisation at Devons Road depot”, in Modern Railways, pages 262, 264