pediatrics
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pediatrics
Explanation
If you're taking a little kid to the doctor, look for a sign that says pediatrics. Physicians who treat children and babies specialize in pediatrics. Different branches of medicine focus on different groups of people or specific illnesses. While pediatrics is all about young people from birth to their teens, geriatrics, for example, focuses on elderly people. A medical student who specializes in pediatrics will eventually be a pediatrician, or children's doctor. The root of pediatrics is the Greek word for "child," pais.
Vocabulary lists containing pediatrics
National Nurses Week: Medical Branches and Conditions
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iatr (healing); therap (medical treatment)
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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.
“The data are reassuring across the board,” said Tom Brenna, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Additional authors came from the Yale School of Medicine departments of pediatrics and neuroscience and the Yale Child Study Center.
From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2026
Dr. Lisa Costello, a pediatrician and associate professor of general pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, who also cares for newborns, said the birth dose is very important.
From Salon • Dec. 12, 2025
Claire McCarthy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, advises parents to spread their compliments, love and cheerleading evenly among their children to avoid resentments or emotional fallout later in life.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 3, 2025
The pediatrics chief already knew of Farmer’s work and found it remarkable.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
