hospice

American  

[hos-pis] / ˈhɒs pɪs /

noun

• hospices
  plural

1. a house of shelter or rest for pilgrims, strangers, etc., especially one kept by a religious order.

2. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a healthcare facility for the terminally ill that emphasizes pain control and emotional support for the patient and family, typically refraining from taking extraordinary measures to prolong life.

   2. a similar program of care and support for the terminally ill at home or in a nursing home.

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hospice British  

/ ˈhɒspɪs /

noun

1. a nursing home that specializes in caring for the terminally ill

2. Also called: hospitium.  archaic a place of shelter for travellers, esp one kept by a monastic order

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hospices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hospice

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, from Latin hospitium “hospitable reception, entertainment”; see hospitium

Explanation

If someone has entered into a hospice, his health outlook is likely grim. Hospice care is a program designed to make the process of dying as comfortable as possible for patients and their families. The word hospice comes from the Latin hospitum, meaning "guest house, hospitality." Hospice traditionally meant lodging for travelers, often run by a religious order like a church or monastery. While we most commonly see the word hospice used to describe the particular care provided to people who are dying, the term is not strictly limited to this. A hospice can also be a place that takes care of the sick, not necessarily only the terminally ill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hospice hospices

The couple have already started putting down roots in north east Wales, volunteering at the Wrexham Miners Project and supporting the children's hospice Hope House.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Towle, who was moved to hospice care earlier this week, had over a million followers on TikTok and over 200,000 on Instagram.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Government Accountability Office recently recommended that the payment method for hospice be revamped to pay for the number of patient visits rather than total days a patient spends in hospice.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Marti Funk, Funk’s wife of 40 years, told Florida’s Ocala Gazette that her husband died Tuesday while in hospice care.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Finally Brother Luke said, “Hast seen enough, lad? It is a good way to the next hospice, they tell me, and we have two or three days’ journey ahead of us.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli

Over half of the “low-visit hospices” were concentrated in seven states — including California, which had 35% of the total low-visit hospices, according to the GAO.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Chemed, which owns Roto-Rooter and a chain of end-of-life hospices, gave its CEO $121,502 in tickets for Cincinnati Bengals games and other sports events.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

CMS also imposed a six-month nationwide freeze External link on new Medicare enrollments for hospices and home health agencies starting mid-May.

From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026

Wales has two children's hospices, Tŷ Hafan and Tŷ Gobaith in Conwy.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

She had trained priests, built and maintained churches and hospices, had built the Cathedral of Scutari, and established and protected the first Albanian schools of the North.

From Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle by M. E. (Mary Edith) Durham

Related Words

• clinic
• emergency room
• health service
• infirmary
• nursing home
• sanitarium
• shelter
• ward