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

Community clinics that fail to comply would be penalized, with fines placed in a state-managed fund to be spent on clinic workforce programs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026

Kyle Gordy insists he choses to donate directly to women because it is more personal than a "cold and clinical" regulated clinic.

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026

They made it to a nearby clinic, San Antonio de Catia La Mar, where the besieged staff was implementing emergency triage, prioritizing those with life-threatening conditions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026

After 18 months without success, the couple saw their GP and were referred for further tests in hospital and at a fertility clinic.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026

Janie was always trying to get Mom to rename her veterinary clinic something else.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Related Words

• hospital