outpatient
Americannoun
-
outpatients
plural
noun
Usage
What does outpatient mean? Outpatient is commonly used as an adjective to describe treatment that does not require a patient to stay overnight at a hospital or other care facility—they come and leave on the same day. Outpatient is used in contrast with the term inpatient, which describes treatment that requires a patient to be admitted for at least one night. The terms are especially used in phrases like outpatient procedure (after which the patient can leave, instead of staying for further observation or treatment), inpatient treatment (which requires the patient to stay overnight at the hospital), and inpatient room (where such patients stay). Outpatient and inpatient are typically used in the context of hospitals, though inpatient can also refer to a patient who is admitted overnight at a mental health facility or other kind of clinic. Both terms can also be used as nouns referring to such patients. Example: I have an outpatient procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning, so I should be back home by the afternoon.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of outpatient
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:
Clancy was clinically diagnosed with major depressive disorder by multiple professionals: McLean Hospital psychiatrist Dr. Alia Goodheart, outpatient psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts and prosecution expert Dr. Avram Mack.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
The University of California, Irvine, a major beneficiary of the 340B program, in 2024 acquired four hospitals and their associated outpatient clinics from the for-profit Tenet Healthcare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
It also said the strike had significantly damaged the adjacent outpatient clinic building.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Medicare Part B premiums, which cover doctors and hospital outpatient services, eclipsed $200 a month for the first time this year, straining the finances of many retirees.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
“I have outpatient therapy from four to five, remember?”
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Similar patterns were observed in 11% of outpatients and individuals who appeared healthy at the time of testing.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026
Kaiser Permanente Southern California is continuing to observe rising cases, mostly among outpatients, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2024
Hudson said she is seeing most new COVID-19 cases among outpatients, rather than those needing hospitalization.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
The team are already seeing about 100 outpatients a day at the field hospital and expect to double that soon.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2024
The majority of my friends in there didn’t last, and out of the few that were still with me when I left even fewer survived as outpatients.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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.
