public health

American  

noun

1. health services to improve and protect community health, especially sanitation, immunization, and preventive medicine.

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Other Word Forms

• public-health adjective

Etymology

Origin of public health

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

While public health efforts to reduce teen pregnancies have helped, the reasons for the huge drop in teen birth rates have largely been cultural.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2026

“Although widespread infection- and vaccine-conferred immunity have decreased rates of severe COVID-19 over time, the public health impact of COVID-19 is still considerable,” scientists recently wrote in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Studies that rely on wearable devices are opening new possibilities for understanding and improving public health.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

America’s Founding Fathers used their positions to influence public health, recognizing early on that the economic, social and political vitality of the nation was intertwined with the physical health of its citizens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

C. J. continued, “With the information we have, we are going to notify state and national public health officials.”

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston