malpractice

American  

[mal-prak-tis] / mælˈpræk tɪs /

noun

• malpractices
  plural

1. Law. failure of a professional person, as a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows.

2. any improper, negligent practice; misconduct or misuse.

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malpractice British  

/ mælˈpræktɪs /

noun

1. immoral, illegal, or unethical professional conduct or neglect of professional duty

2. any instance of improper professional conduct

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malpractice Cultural  

1. Mistakes or negligent conduct by a professional person, especially a physician, that results in damage to others, such as misdiagnosis of a serious illness. Damaged parties often seek compensation by bringing malpractice suits against the offending physician or other professional.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• malpractitioner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• malpractices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of malpractice

First recorded in 1665–75; mal- + practice

Explanation

If you needed your tonsils removed but your surgeon accidentally took out your appendix instead, you could sue her for malpractice, or mistreatment by a doctor that results in harm to the patient. There are many kinds of malpractice, but medical and legal — by a doctor or lawyer — are the most common. Any professional who injures a client or patient through negligence risks being accused of malpractice, and possibly taken to court. The prefix mal means "bad," from the Latin word malus, or "evil." Practice comes from the Modern Latin practicare, "to practice." If a doctor practices medicine badly enough that it hurts someone, that's malpractice.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

malpractice malpractices

The hospital has denied Thurman’s malpractice allegations in a court filing.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

Plaintiffs attorneys, legislators and patients say that Kaiser’s private and confidential process for arbitrating legal disputes over medical care still has key flaws that favor Kaiser over patients bringing malpractice cases.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

Evidence commonly used to support a malpractice claim includes emails and other written communications, court records, billing records, the attorney’s case file and expert testimony from another lawyer, Kassab adds.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

The more potent indictment centers on strategic malpractice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Believe it or not, the risk of being sued for malpractice has very little to do with how many mistakes a doctor makes.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

In October 2025, Seoul apologised for the first time for state-sanctioned malpractices, saying "unjust human rights violations" were committed.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

There was one rural hospital, the site of various malpractices.

From Salon ● May 3, 2022

“We found exactly the same malpractices in exactly the same districts in 2018 as we did the year before,” Klimek says.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 30, 2018

The leak, denounced by Erdogan as "villainous", was the latest in a series of anonymous recordings posted on the Internet purportedly revealing graft and other malpractices in his inner circle.

From Reuters ● Mar. 28, 2014

He had been ordered out of show rings before that day for malpractices.

From Finn The Wolfhound by Robert Hugh Buxton

Related Words

• carelessness
• dereliction
• misbehavior
• misdeed
• mismanagement
• negligence
• transgression
• violation