health

American  

[helth] / hɛlθ /

noun

• health
  plural

1. the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor.

   good health;

   poor health.

2. soundness of body or mind; freedom from disease or ailment.

   to have one's health;

   to lose one's health.

   Synonyms:

   stamina, fitness, strength, vitality, vigor

3. a polite or complimentary wish for a person's health, happiness, etc., especially as a toast.

   We drank a health to our guest of honor.

4. vigor; vitality.

   economic health.

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health British  

/ hɛlθ /

noun

1. the state of being bodily and mentally vigorous and free from disease

2. the general condition of body and mind

   in poor health

3. the condition of any unit, society, etc

   the economic health of a nation

4. a toast to a person, wishing him or her good health, happiness, etc

5. (modifier) of or relating to food or other goods reputed to be beneficial to the health

   health food

   a health store

6. (modifier) of or relating to health, esp to the administration of health

   a health committee

   health resort

   health service

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interjection

1. an exclamation wishing someone good health as part of a toast (in the phrases your health, good health, etc)

health Idioms  

1. see clean bill of health.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subhealth
  noun
• healthward
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• health
  plural

Etymology

Origin of health

First recorded before 1000; Middle English helthe, Old English hǣlth; see hale ¹, whole, -th ¹

Explanation

Your health is the condition of your body. If you barely get any sleep and only eat frozen pizza and jellybeans, you probably have poor health. Health comes from the old English word for "whole," and you can think of it as the state of your whole being — both body and mind. We use health to talk about bodies and people, but also to talk about whole systems. If you lost your job, you might be worried about the health of your finances. If a bad manager provokes employees to be unproductive, investors might be worried about the health of a business.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

health

CEO Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm in February, credited new product mixes and store updates in baby, toy and health departments, though he warned results might not remain so punchy in the new quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Your son has, perhaps, been given a rougher deal: Even though he is a full-time student with little or no income, he still pays about $500 for health insurance.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Low levels of physical activity among adolescents remain a significant public health concern.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

There are about 730,000 paying parents on the CMS's books, and we have spoken to fathers who say their mental health has been impacted by what they describe as incompetence.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

JonPaul plays football, basketball and baseball and is roughly the size of a half-ton Chevy pickup, but he’s a total wuss about his health.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• energy
• fitness
• strength
• well-being