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
Etymology
Origin of physician
1175–1225; physic + -ian ( see -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.
The severity of his condition was largely covered up by his physician and other staff.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
A decade later, physician Oleksandr Bogomolets organized the world’s first longevity conference and won Joseph Stalin’s praise for research claiming humans could live to 150.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Her physician knows the true biological age of her vital organs; if something turns up on a scan, they’re on top of it.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Prosecutors said she submitted claims for injections “that were never provided and medically unnecessary” from 2019 through 2025, working as the primary physician, owner and operator of Healthy Way Medical Center in Glendale.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
The City of Sassinoth with equal liberality sent their young physician along with me, for I was not in very good shape yet.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
