physician
Americannoun
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physicians
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
That is the sort of information a patient should hear from their physician, who can break the news gently, and provide context and prognosis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Caleb Pepperday is a financial planner who works with clients who are largely between 30 and 50 years old and are physician assistants.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Gudrun Schumann, 72, a retired physician who wandered past the rally, said she understood the AfD appeals to voters angry over mounting problems with healthcare, education and the cost of living.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
The actor, who plays chief attending physician Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch in the medical drama, won the award at Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards, a repeat effort after the medical drama’s standout freshman season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The jail physician wrote the Marion County Board of Health that due to “close confinement and very hot weather” Fannie risked great injury to her health.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
Compatible blood was unavailable, so physicians ultimately transfused unmatched red blood cells after weighing the risks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Many physicians weren’t taking new patients, and those who were had wait lists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
None of this means that consumers should be denied access to emerging tests, or that physicians should dismiss people who ask about them.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Scientists, physicians, public health experts and medical organizations recognized a gap and worked together to fill it.”
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Two physicians in the crowd sprinted out to him, joining the track doctor.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
