clinic

American  

[klin-ik] / ˈklɪn ɪk /

noun

• clinics
  plural

1. a place, as in connection with a medical school or a hospital, for the treatment of nonresident patients, sometimes at low cost or without charge.

2. a group of physicians, dentists, or the like, working in cooperation and sharing the same facilities.

3. a class or group convening for instruction or remedial work or for the diagnosis and treatment of specific problems.

   a reading clinic; a speech clinic; a summer baseball clinic for promising young players.

4. the instruction of medical students by examining or treating patients in their presence or by their examining or treating patients under supervision.

5. a class of students assembled for such instruction.

6. Sports Slang. a performance so thoroughly superior by a team or player as to be a virtual model or demonstration of excellence; rout or mismatch.

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adjective

1. of a clinic; clinical.

clinic British  

/ ˈklɪnɪk /

noun

1. a place in which outpatients are given medical treatment or advice, often connected to a hospital

2. a similar place staffed by physicians or surgeons specializing in one or more specific areas

   eye clinic

3. a private hospital or nursing home

4. obsolete the teaching of medicine to students at the bedside

5. a place in which medical lectures are given

6. a clinical lecture

7. a group or centre that offers advice or instruction

   a vocational clinic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• clinics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of clinic

1620–30; 1885–90 clinic for def. 1; < Latin clīnicus < Greek klīnikós pertaining to a (sick) bed, equivalent to klī́n ( ē ) bed + -ikos -ic

Explanation

A clinic is a doctor's office, particularly one that specializes in one kind of medicine. After you're diagnosed with a broken leg, you may be referred to an orthopedic clinic. Sometimes the word clinic is used when a medical office isn't a hospital or a private doctor's office. Some clinics help patients who don't need to be hospitalized, or have been released from a hospital, but still need specialized care. Other kinds of clinics provide dental care or immunizations. Clinic is from the Latin clinicus, "physician that visits patients in their beds," with the Greek root klinike, "at the sickbed."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clinic clinics

As well as her NHS work, she has opened a private adolescent endometriosis clinic in Manchester.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Hundreds of police, some wielding sticks, were deployed near Shifa International Hospital in the capital Islamabad, with roads leading to the clinic cordoned off.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

On June 18, Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi denied reports that Biya had been hospitalised at a Geneva clinic.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The BBC has also now learnt that the world's largest sperm bank, Cryos International, has blacklisted Dogus clinic since 2016.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

As Howard Hiatt had done, Sachs began talking to influential individuals and institutions about using Farmer’s clinic as a world model.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

“Prevention is always better than rehabilitation,” says Mike Teater, director of balance for Fyzical, a national network of clinics specializing in balance and dizziness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

They face a host of challenges, including damaged hospitals and clinics, which hamper efforts to treat people, said Adib Fletcher, a senior director at Project Hope, a humanitarian relief organization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The city says they and other local partners have brought mobile health clinics to the neighbourhood and delivered thousands of air purifiers.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Any use belongs in clinical trials or in carefully supervised medical settings, not in clinics selling expensive “immune boosts.”

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

He’s spoken to the Detroit Lions football team, and gives a regular presentation to the top high school basketball players in the world when they gather at national clinics.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• hospital