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:
The system would cover hospital and physician services, most prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, long-term care and gender affirming and reproductive care such as contraception and abortions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Aberdeen-based occupational health physician Dr Niyi Adeleke assesses the fitness of people for offshore work.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Besigye, a former personal physician to long-ruling Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has been in the authorities' crosshairs since he joined the east African country's opposition more than 25 years ago.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
I’m also a physician, trained in a profession that asks us to take action by identifying risk factors, diagnosing diseases, and intervening whenever possible.
From Slate ● Aug. 29, 2026
He had never graduated from college but had fooled hospital officials into believing he was a trained physician with expertise in psychiatry.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
“Scientists, physicians, public health experts and medical organizations recognized a gap and worked together to fill it.”
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Pakistan's Supreme Court had on Tuesday directed the government to transfer Khan to a private hospital to be examined by physicians.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
“We’re setting up a system where people of better financial resources can get physicians who can spend more time with them,” says Weisbart.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
They must maintain nurses, physicians, technicians, operating rooms, diagnostic equipment and emergency readiness around the clock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
In keeping with almost universally accepted practice at the time, physicians and other scientists at Hopkins and elsewhere did not seek permission to use tissue removed as part of diagnostic and treatment procedures.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
