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
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.
But then she chose pre-med, becoming a physician assistant.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 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
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 deals were pitched by Ascent Equity Group, a firm founded by a Boulder, Colo., physician, whose website touts “passive real estate for physicians, by physicians.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
“I’ll just be a minute,” she said, after my father’s wife reintroduced her as his hospice physician.
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.
