physician
Americannoun
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a person who is legally qualified to practice medicine; doctor of medicine.
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a person engaged in general medical practice, as distinguished from one specializing in surgery.
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a person who is skilled in the art of healing.
noun
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a person legally qualified to practise medicine, esp one specializing in areas of treatment other than surgery; doctor of medicine
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archaic any person who treats diseases; healer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of physician
1175–1225; physic + -ian ( see -ician); replacing Middle English fisicien < Old French
Explanation
A physician is a doctor. If you wake up and your eyes are red, your skin is yellow, and your tongue is swollen, find a physician, soon! When we use the word physician, we typically mean a doctor that practices general healing, as opposed to a surgeon. Physician is a very old word, coming from both Greek and Latin roots for physic, meaning "natural science and medicine."
Vocabulary lists containing physician
Occupations
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National Nurses Week: Hospital People and Places
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It would be up to each hospital, health system and physician group to report which staff members exceed the cap and by how much.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
“Musk is a superstar, whether you like him or not,” said Randal Brown, a 70-year-old retired physician and business owner hoping to buy SpaceX shares.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
For Fred Pescatore, a 64-year-old physician from New York City, the decision to leave the U.S. has been years in the making.
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
One physician, however, is working to change this.
From Slate • Jun. 7, 2026
The jail physician wrote the Marion County Board of Health that due to “close confinement and very hot weather” Fannie risked great injury to her health.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
