malpractice

American  

[mal-prak-tis] / mælˈpræk tɪs /

noun

• malpractices
  plural

1. Law. failure of a professional person, as a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows.

2. any improper, negligent practice; misconduct or misuse.

---

malpractice British  

/ ˌmælprækˈtɪʃənə, mælˈpræktɪs /

noun

1. immoral, illegal, or unethical professional conduct or neglect of professional duty

2. any instance of improper professional conduct

---

malpractice Cultural  

1. Mistakes or negligent conduct by a professional person, especially a physician, that results in damage to others, such as misdiagnosis of a serious illness. Damaged parties often seek compensation by bringing malpractice suits against the offending physician or other professional.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• malpractitioner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• malpractices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of malpractice

First recorded in 1665–75; mal- + practice

Explanation

If you needed your tonsils removed but your surgeon accidentally took out your appendix instead, you could sue her for malpractice, or mistreatment by a doctor that results in harm to the patient. There are many kinds of malpractice, but medical and legal — by a doctor or lawyer — are the most common. Any professional who injures a client or patient through negligence risks being accused of malpractice, and possibly taken to court. The prefix mal means "bad," from the Latin word malus, or "evil." Practice comes from the Modern Latin practicare, "to practice." If a doctor practices medicine badly enough that it hurts someone, that's malpractice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

malpractice malpractices

The more potent indictment centers on strategic malpractice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

"As long as a single test determines access to scarce opportunities, there will be strong incentives for exam malpractice, regardless of the testing format," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

UniCredit has previously rejected allegations of malpractice related to its attempted takeover of Commerzbank.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

One lawyer in Texas has started filing malpractice lawsuits.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

What comes up again and again in malpractice cases is that patients say they were rushed or ignored or treated poorly.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

In October 2025, Seoul apologised for the first time for state-sanctioned malpractices, saying "unjust human rights violations" were committed.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

It all started in 2015 when accounting malpractices across multiple divisions came to light, with many of them involving top management.

From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2023

Earlier this week, insurer Aviva said it had seen a 16% rise in such malpractices till October this year compared with the same period last year.

From Reuters ● Dec. 2, 2022

There was one rural hospital, the site of various malpractices.

From Salon ● May 3, 2022

And by the Metropolitan Police system every man promoted is transferred to another division, so that the rank and file would have to induce a continually changing series of strangers to connive at their malpractices.

From Scotland Yard The methods and organisation of the Metropolitan Police by George Dilnot

Related Words

• carelessness
• dereliction
• misbehavior
• misdeed
• mismanagement
• negligence
• transgression
• violation