paramedic

¹

[ par-uh-med-ik ]

noun

1. a person who is trained to assist a physician or to give first aid or other healthcare in the absence of a physician, often as part of a police, rescue, or firefighting squad.

paramedic

²

[ noun par-uh-med-ik, par-uh-med-; adjective par-uh-med-ik ]

noun

1. Military. a medic in the paratroops.
2. a doctor who parachutes into remote areas to give medical care.

adjective

1. of or relating to a paramedic or to paramedics.

paramedic

/ ˌpærəˈmedɪk /

noun

1. a person, such as a laboratory technician, who supplements the work of the medical profession
2. a member of an ambulance crew trained in a number of life-saving skills, including infusion and cardiac care

adjective

1. of or designating such a person

Word History and Origins

Origin of paramedic¹

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; para- ¹ + medic ¹

Origin of paramedic²

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55; para- ³ + medic ¹

Example Sentences

On April 17, Shorter’s family watched from the yard as paramedics wheeled her into the back of an ambulance.

From Washington Post

Brian Bregman was a risk-taker from an early age, his brother said, and he became a volunteer firefighter in his teens, then an EMT and eventually a paramedic.

From Washington Post

The county health department asked Green’s paramedics to become vaccinators and “we stepped right up to do that,” the chief said.

From Washington Post

In other words, the distribution of home addresses was intended to stop cops and paramedics from becoming the sources of an outbreak.

From Voice of San Diego

So patients stayed under the care of paramedics for hours at a time, waiting for space to clear up.

From Voice of San Diego

Sections of India have transformed since, and the dead paramedic was an example of this change.

From The Daily Beast

There have been 20 rapes in Delhi since Dec. 16, when the paramedic climbed into her last ever bus.

From The Daily Beast

He passed the training and became a paramedic and sniper, with the Middle East as his area of operations.

From The Daily Beast

In the ambulance with him were a police officer, the driver, and a paramedic.

From The Daily Beast

Seeger works at a call center to pay the bills while she studies to be a firefighter paramedic.

From The Daily Beast

I looked where he was pointing, thinking I'd see a cop or an paramedic, but there was no one there.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• nurse