outpatient
Americannoun
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:
GAE is an outpatient procedure designed to ease chronic knee pain by reducing blood flow to inflamed areas within the joint.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
She keeps regular appointments with her endocrinologist, primary care provider, dietician and pharmacist at MLK Community Medical Group, the outpatient arm of MLK Community Healthcare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Many Advantage plans bundle Part A hospital coverage, Part B outpatient coverage, and Part D drug coverage.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient services, requires a monthly premium.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
“I have outpatient therapy from four to five, remember?”
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
The facility also would serve about 200 outpatients a day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
All non-urgent outpatients appointments in a number of hospitals have been cancelled and thousands of homes are without power.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2025
Chua and colleagues recently published findings about trends in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in outpatients under age 65, suggesting about 25% were inappropriate.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024
Another study of patients in the Veterans Affairs health system found that as of early 2023, less than a quarter of outpatients who tested positive for coronavirus infections were receiving any kind of anti-COVID medication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 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.
