physician
Americannoun
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a person who is legally qualified to practice medicine; doctor of medicine.
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a person engaged in general medical practice, as distinguished from one specializing in surgery.
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a person who is skilled in the art of healing.
noun
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a person legally qualified to practise medicine, esp one specializing in areas of treatment other than surgery; doctor of medicine
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archaic any person who treats diseases; healer
Other Word Forms
- physicianly adjective
Etymology
Origin of physician
1175–1225; physic + -ian ( -ician ); replacing Middle English fisicien < Old French
Explanation
A physician is a doctor. If you wake up and your eyes are red, your skin is yellow, and your tongue is swollen, find a physician, soon! When we use the word physician, we typically mean a doctor that practices general healing, as opposed to a surgeon. Physician is a very old word, coming from both Greek and Latin roots for physic, meaning "natural science and medicine."
Vocabulary lists containing physician
Occupations
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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.
During a more than 35-year career, he saw more than 6,000 patients and become the highest-paid physician affiliated with UCLA, according to litigation.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
The approach applies to items marketed and labeled as dietary supplements and provided to insurance beneficiaries under the direction of a physician.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Backed by AI-enabled margin expansion and steady research and development, the online professional physician platform operator is positioned to capture China’s 17 billion-yuan digital healthcare marketing opportunity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
They are “horrid,” says Carolyn McClanahan, a physician turned certified financial planner, mainly because of the caps and policy fees.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
The hospice physician then walked further down the hall to what I assumed was my father’s room.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
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.
