geriatric
Americanadjective
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of or relating to geriatrics or old age.
the hospital's geriatric ward.
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noting or relating to aged people or animals: a geriatric pet.
geriatric patients;
a geriatric pet.
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old, outmoded, or worn out by long use.
The company is suffering from geriatric factories and manufacturing technologies.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to geriatric medicine or to older people
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offensive (of people or machines) old, obsolescent, worn out, or useless
noun
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old-fashioned an elderly person
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informal an older person considered as one who may be disregarded as senile or unable to look after his or her own best interests
Usage
What does geriatric mean? Geriatric is an adjective that means relating to old age or the care of aged people.A common use of geriatric is in the phrase geriatric medicine (also called geriatrics), which is the branch of medicine dealing with the care of aged persons.Although geriatric was once used in the medical field as a noun meaning an older person, that use is now considered offensive. It is also considered offensive when used as an adjective to describe a thing (such as a machine) that’s worn out or useless.Example: Since older people face unique health risks, it’s important for them to see doctors who specialize in treating geriatric patients.
Etymology
Origin of geriatric
First recorded in 1925–30; from Greek gér(ōn) “old man” + iatric ( def. )
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.
My ‘geriatric jock’ mother came, saw and felt empowered.
From Los Angeles Times
Roberts has worked in the geriatric ward and has now transitioned into a surgical rotation at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
From BBC
In March 2023, Schmidt met with George Hennawi, the MedStar system’s physician executive director of geriatrics and senior services, as well as others, including a pharmacist who went through her medications.
I tried leaning on it, hand on hip, and felt myself transformed from a geriatric sourpuss into a bemused observer of the human cavalcade.
“I’m a geriatric pregnant spinster who puts crystals in her bra,” Helen says in an unusual moment of self-awareness.
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.
