infirmary
Americannoun
-
a place for the care of the infirm, sick, or injured; hospital or facility serving as a hospital.
a school infirmary.
-
a dispensary.
noun
Etymology
Origin of infirmary
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English word from Medieval Latin word infirmāria. See infirm, -ary
Explanation
An infirmary is a hospital, or the area of an institution that's used as a hospital. If you come down with chickenpox at summer camp, you might have to spend a few nights in the camp infirmary. While you can call a hospital an infirmary, you're most likely to do this if you're British and referring to a specific hospital, like the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Infirmaries are usually spaces within larger buildings that provide healthcare. Inmates go to the prison infirmary when they're sick, and soldiers get their checkups at the military base infirmary. The earliest infirmaries were in monasteries. The Latin root is infirmus, "weak or frail."
Vocabulary lists containing infirmary
Night
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Dear Martin
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The Catcher in the Rye
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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.
A sort of community in miniature emerged, with security and scavenger teams and plumbers and one lone doctor running an overpacked infirmary.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Levi was too sick and Soviet troops found him close to death in the camp infirmary.
From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025
For the jail’s infirmary, there are options including adding new steel-braced frames.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024
“Every now and then, people had high fever. They were taken to the infirmary, then brought back, and that was it,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2024
The sounds of Thurmond’s infirmary faded in and out in uneven waves.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
