nurse-practitioner
noun
a registered nurse who has received special training for diagnosing and treating routine or minor ailments. NP
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nurse-practitioner
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nurse practitioner
nurse practitionernouna nurse who has specialized advanced skills in diagnosis, psychosocial assessment, and patient management and is permitted to prescribe certain drugs
nurse-practitioner
American
[nurs-prak-tish-uh-ner]
/ ˈnɜrs prækˈtɪʃ ə nər /
Or
nurse practitioner
noun
nurse practitioner
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of nurse-practitioner
First recorded in 1975–80
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:
Dr. Dunbar, a nurse-practitioner who lives in Wallingford, Pa., is younger, at 61, but has coped with caregiving for far longer: Her husband, Jeffrey Draine, 60, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2017.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
One that did said that they heard hospitals were focusing on a nurse-practitioner led ER-staffing model, so they were holding off on physician hires for now.
From Slate ● May 1, 2020
Joan Kitten, a nurse-practitioner in Fort Dodge, said that she picked O’Rourke even before he got to town.
From The New Yorker ● May 27, 2019
Sister Bernie is a nurse-practitioner who first persuaded Stan Brock to bring RAM to Virginia back in 1999.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 23, 2016
A few days later she took me to a nurse-practitioner, who listened to my yearnings for my mother.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
A nurse practitioner assisted by diagnostic AI, for instance, can handle cases that once required a physician.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The nurse practitioner who prescribed Robinson the medication didn’t warn her that resistance training is essential to maintaining muscle mass, Robinson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
The patient’s sister-in-law told them a nurse practitioner “came to the home a few times to treat J.L.’s flesh infection and “did not treat the open wounds often because they were too infected.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Seeking a fresh start, Petriscak retired from her career as a geriatric nurse practitioner and left California.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
I want to be a nurse practitioner, so I figure it's a good gig to warm up on.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
