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

Neko, which was co-founded by Spotify founder Daniel Ek and engineer Hjalmar Nilsonne, last month opened its first preventive-health clinic in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The setting is, once again, part of the draw: The clinic sits above the sapphire Lake Altaussee, surrounded by pine forests and limestone massifs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“I continue to provide free legal help to wildfire survivors who have asked me to stay involved,” he said, though he no longer runs the clinic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Before blood pressure was measured, participants emptied their bladders and walked for two minutes to simulate the typical experience of walking into a clinic or medical office before a screening.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

When Yuni was not helping at the clinic, she was helping to care for the children of the women who had to work.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Dozens of public buildings including schools, health clinics and hospitals have been wrecked by the floods.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Dr Amara Naseem says her clinics always overrun as it takes about 20 minutes to sensitively take a detailed history and carry out internal examinations.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The team examined blood pressure readings taken in clinics as part of Our Future Health, the UK's largest health research program.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

It applies to federally qualified health centers, community clinics that deliver primary care to underserved populations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

They started a clinic for people who couldn’t afford clinics and they lived in a small house in the back.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• hospital