hospital
Americannoun
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hospitals
plural
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an institution in which sick or injured people are given medical or surgical treatment.
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a similar establishment for the care of animals.
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a repair shop for specific portable objects: doll hospital.
violin hospital;
doll hospital.
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British. an institution supported by charity or taxes for people in need of care, as a children's home or nursing home.
noun
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an institution for the medical, surgical, obstetric, or psychiatric care and treatment of patients
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(modifier) having the function of a hospital
a hospital ship
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a repair shop for something specified
a dolls' hospital
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archaic a charitable home, hospice, or school
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hospital
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)ospital, “lodging for pilgrims and travelers, hostel,” Old French (h)ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitāle “guesthouse, inn,” noun use of neuter of Latin hospitālis “hospitable,” equivalent to hospit- stem of hospes “guest, visitor, host” + -ālis -al 1 ( def. ); see also hospitium
Explanation
A hospital is the place to go when you're very sick or injured in a way that requires immediate treatment. If you trip over your shoelaces and break your arm, you'll need to go to the hospital. People having surgery or delivering a baby usually go to a hospital, and if you suspect you have food poisoning, you might visit the emergency room of a hospital. Hospitals are staffed by doctors and nurses, as well as office workers, cleaners, and aides of various kinds. The earliest hospitals were shelters or needy people, or hostels for travelers, and the word comes from the Late Latin hospitale, "guest house or inn."
Vocabulary lists containing hospital
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.
See Examples For:
The detective was airlifted to a Lancaster hospital and reported in stable condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
One of the main problems the Cookstown family experienced was taking Lila out in the car, which had a huge impact on family life and their ability to attend hospital appointments.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Imagine a hospital where more than half of patients died from routine procedures. A fire department that failed to respond to more than half its calls,” the report said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The four victims -- aged 34, 39, 42, and 52 -- were taken to hospital where two remained with injuries not "believed to be life-threatening or life changing," the force added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“I read them in the hospital sometimes, when there’s nothing else. It’s so dumb. They think all kids read comics, so they have them in the ward. Somebody donates them.”
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
The mint also uses recycled silver, some of it extracted from old radios supplied by British hospitals.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
With nearly 900 beds and 2,100 doctors, Cedars-Sinai is one of the biggest and most capable hospitals in the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Anwar adds: "Even major hospitals would struggle if many such patients arrived at the same time."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
He suspects that because these patients did not pass through general hospitals, and come into contact with those patients and medics, there was little opportunity for community transmission.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
He wasn’t back at Dartmouth or over in one of the plush private hospitals on Chicago’s north side, where money wasn’t an issue.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
