residency
Americannoun
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a variant of residence
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a regular series of concerts by a band or singer at one venue
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the period, following internship, during which a physician undergoes further clinical training, usually in one medical speciality
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(in India, formerly) the official house of the governor general at the court of a native prince
Etymology
Origin of residency
First recorded in 1570–80; resid(ent) + -ency
Explanation
Your residency is where you live, officially. A residency is also a temporary professional visit, like when a doctor does a residency at a hospital or a poet does a residency at a school. When someone emigrates to another country, they don't just visit temporarily — they gain residency in the new country, becoming a legal resident. And if you get a driver's license, you'll get it in the state where you have residency. Another way to use this noun is to mean "a stage of medical training." After attending medical school, new doctors have a residency at a hospital, where they specialize in a particular branch of medicine.
Vocabulary lists containing residency
Americanized
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The Prince and the Dressmaker
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A Light in the Darkness
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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.
She chose the name Freida as a medical in-joke - after a hospital training registry, the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Mexico’s Temporary Residency Visa can be obtained with about $4,000 a month in income or around $80,000 in savings.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
Kaufman’s gift came with the launch of three new community-focused programs: a USC Alumni Residency, an L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
The study participants were resident physicians undergoing training in both adult and pediatric neurology in the Boston University Neurology Residency Program.
From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2024
Residency costs $3,000 per person up front, $5,000 total.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
