crt

IPA/ˌsiː.ɑːˈtiː/
IPA/ˌsiː.ɑːrˈtiː/

crt — noun

  • crtsingular
  • crtsplural

1. short form of cathode ray tube — the deep, glass tube once used inside older tel

1.nounC1
Definition

short form of cathode ray tube — the deep, glass tube once used inside older televisions and computer monitors that fires electrons at a coated surface to draw the picture.

Example

Esteban dragged the heavy CRT monitor down from the attic to play retro games.

common collocation: CRT monitor

The family finally replaced its bulky CRT television with a flat LCD screen last spring.

contrastive: CRT vs LCD / flat screens

Common collocations
  • CRT monitor
  • CRT television
  • CRT display
  • old CRT
  • bulky CRT
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • LCD

    the flat-panel technology that replaced CRTs

  • flat-screen

    general modern alternative

Grammar Patterns

CRT + monitor / television / display

Usage Note

Almost always written in capitals. Most often appears in the noun phrase 'CRT monitor' or 'CRT television', usually in contrast with newer flat-panel screens.

Common Mistakes

I bought a new crt for my desk.
I bought a new CRT for my desk.
written in capitals because it is an abbreviation.

2. short form of cardiac resynchronization therapy — used when a weak heart is help

2.nounC2
Definition

short form of cardiac resynchronization therapy — used when a weak heart is helped by a small implanted device that sends electrical signals so the two ventricles squeeze together at the correct moment.

Example

After her heart failure worsened, Adina's cardiologist recommended CRT to improve her energy levels.

typical context: heart failure + recommendation

Patients who receive CRT often report less shortness of breath when walking up stairs.

collocation: receive CRT

Common collocations
  • receive CRT
  • undergo CRT
  • qualify for CRT
  • CRT device
  • CRT pacemaker
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

receive / undergo + CRT

Usage Note

Distinct from sense 1 — appears only in medical contexts, usually paired with words like 'heart failure', 'pacemaker', or 'cardiologist'. The verbs 'receive', 'undergo', and 'qualify for' are typical.

Common Mistakes

Doctors gave her a CRT.
Doctors gave her CRT.
uncountable in this sense; no article.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

CRT names the deep, glass-tube display technology that dominated televisions and computer monitors before about 2005. LCD (liquid crystal display) replaced it: thinner, lighter, and lower-power, but early LCDs had slower response times. LED is in everyday use a shorthand for an LCD panel that is back-lit by light-emitting diodes rather than fluorescent tubes — sharper contrast, slimmer body. OLED uses self-lighting organic pixels, giving the deepest blacks and the thinnest panels but at a higher price. So a salesperson today might say: 'We stopped selling CRT models years ago — your choice is between LCD, LED, and OLED.'

CRT ↗LCD ↗LED ↗OLED

Common collocations

Nouns

  • CRT monitor
  • CRT television
  • CRT display
  • CRT screen

Phrases

  • replaced by LCD
  • old CRT set

Prepositions

  • on a CRT
  • with a CRT

Etymology

English

An initialism formed in the mid-twentieth century from the three words 'cathode', 'ray', and 'tube'. The underlying device was invented in the 1890s, but the short form CRT became common in technical writing as televisions spread after the 1950s. The medical sense (cardiac resynchronization therapy) is a separate, much later coinage from around 2000, when pacemaker technology was first used to coordinate the two ventricles in heart-failure patients.

First known use

1941

1941, in the meaning defined above