outpatient
Americannoun
-
outpatients
plural
noun
Usage
What does outpatient mean? Outpatient is commonly used as an adjective to describe treatment that does not require a patient to stay overnight at a hospital or other care facility—they come and leave on the same day. Outpatient is used in contrast with the term inpatient, which describes treatment that requires a patient to be admitted for at least one night. The terms are especially used in phrases like outpatient procedure (after which the patient can leave, instead of staying for further observation or treatment), inpatient treatment (which requires the patient to stay overnight at the hospital), and inpatient room (where such patients stay). Outpatient and inpatient are typically used in the context of hospitals, though inpatient can also refer to a patient who is admitted overnight at a mental health facility or other kind of clinic. Both terms can also be used as nouns referring to such patients. Example: I have an outpatient procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning, so I should be back home by the afternoon.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outpatient
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 ease pressure on the emergency room, the hospital opened a special outpatient clinic in June for tick-bite victims, and nearly 400 people were treated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The possibility that a single outpatient treatment could provide relief lasting several years is one reason researchers are closely studying what happens inside the knee after GAE.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
I called my insurance, confirmed no prior authorization was required, got a list of in-network providers and called the outpatient clinic to confirm they accepted my plan.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Clancy was clinically diagnosed with major depressive disorder by multiple professionals: McLean Hospital psychiatrist Dr. Alia Goodheart, outpatient psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts and prosecution expert Dr. Avram Mack.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
“I have outpatient therapy from four to five, remember?”
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
A spokesperson for the Western Trust apologised to patients for the delays in their care and said it was part of the Gynaecology Collaborative to implement initiatives which will reduce the number of long-waiting outpatients.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
Similar patterns were observed in 11% of outpatients and individuals who appeared healthy at the time of testing.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026
Hudson said she is seeing most new COVID-19 cases among outpatients, rather than those needing hospitalization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
Another study of patients in the Veterans Affairs health system found that as of early 2023, less than a quarter of outpatients who tested positive for coronavirus infections were receiving any kind of anti-COVID medication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
The majority of my friends in there didn’t last, and out of the few that were still with me when I left even fewer survived as outpatients.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
