hospital
Americannoun
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hospitals
plural
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an institution in which sick or injured people are given medical or surgical treatment.
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a similar establishment for the care of animals.
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a repair shop for specific portable objects: doll hospital.
violin hospital;
doll hospital.
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British. an institution supported by charity or taxes for people in need of care, as a children's home or nursing home.
noun
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an institution for the medical, surgical, obstetric, or psychiatric care and treatment of patients
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(modifier) having the function of a hospital
a hospital ship
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a repair shop for something specified
a dolls' hospital
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archaic a charitable home, hospice, or school
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hospital
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)ospital, “lodging for pilgrims and travelers, hostel,” Old French (h)ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitāle “guesthouse, inn,” noun use of neuter of Latin hospitālis “hospitable,” equivalent to hospit- stem of hospes “guest, visitor, host” + -ālis -al 1 ( def. ); see also hospitium
Explanation
A hospital is the place to go when you're very sick or injured in a way that requires immediate treatment. If you trip over your shoelaces and break your arm, you'll need to go to the hospital. People having surgery or delivering a baby usually go to a hospital, and if you suspect you have food poisoning, you might visit the emergency room of a hospital. Hospitals are staffed by doctors and nurses, as well as office workers, cleaners, and aides of various kinds. The earliest hospitals were shelters or needy people, or hostels for travelers, and the word comes from the Late Latin hospitale, "guest house or inn."
Vocabulary lists containing hospital
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.
See Examples For:
To do the latter, you need sales power and distribution infrastructure, contacts in large hospital systems and insurers, and cash to spend.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
Miloš Forman, the director, had four or five of us sit in a semicircle, as if in a hospital group-therapy session.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Police said on Sunday that six people were in hospital, including one person who was in a critical condition.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The approach could potentially reduce the need for repeated therapies, hospital admissions, and surgery while improving the chances of sustained disease control.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Beside her two orderlies from the hospital were setting down a stretcher.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"If we want better roads, hospitals, schools we need to raise more tax."
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Surgery Partners operates through a network of ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals and physician partnerships, bringing more than 200 locations across 30 states and about 5,000 affiliated physicians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Treyz said the trigger would be “if there’s anything that actually happens from AI,” such as “if the hospitals shut down.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
To evaluate the system, the researchers examined abdominal CT scans from 219 patients treated at multiple hospitals.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Money could help hospitals and disaster victims and starving orphans.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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