hospital
Americannoun
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an institution in which sick or injured people are given medical or surgical treatment.
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a similar establishment for the care of animals.
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a repair shop for specific portable objects: doll hospital.
violin hospital;
doll hospital.
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British. an institution supported by charity or taxes for people in need of care, as a children's home or nursing home.
noun
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an institution for the medical, surgical, obstetric, or psychiatric care and treatment of patients
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(modifier) having the function of a hospital
a hospital ship
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a repair shop for something specified
a dolls' hospital
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archaic a charitable home, hospice, or school
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hospital
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)ospital, “lodging for pilgrims and travelers, hostel,” Old French (h)ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitāle “guesthouse, inn,” noun use of neuter of Latin hospitālis “hospitable,” equivalent to hospit- stem of hospes “guest, visitor, host” + -ālis -al 1 ( def. ); see also hospitium
Explanation
A hospital is the place to go when you're very sick or injured in a way that requires immediate treatment. If you trip over your shoelaces and break your arm, you'll need to go to the hospital. People having surgery or delivering a baby usually go to a hospital, and if you suspect you have food poisoning, you might visit the emergency room of a hospital. Hospitals are staffed by doctors and nurses, as well as office workers, cleaners, and aides of various kinds. The earliest hospitals were shelters or needy people, or hostels for travelers, and the word comes from the Late Latin hospitale, "guest house or inn."
Vocabulary lists containing hospital
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:
It takes time for parents to understand the level of concern I have, even when their child is physically ill in the hospital requiring ongoing care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Emilie Morris, a hospital pediatrician in Salt Lake County and Utah County: When children come in, they’re often bent over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Shelina Rahman, 41, and 15-year-old Sameeha, died in the tragedy, while Ahmed's seven-year-old son Musa was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
A workplace, hospital, classroom, or other everyday setting might appear in a dream, but it would often be combined with unrelated places, shifting viewpoints, or unfamiliar surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
There was another long wait until a nurse appeared to lead her and half a dozen others into the hospital proper.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
With its world-class universities, research hospitals and biotech industry, and Senate Bill 895 making its way to Sacramento, the state has a duty to go all in on Parkinson’s research.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Agents with their faces covered up to their eyes, in unmarked black SUVs with tinted windows, would wait outside churches, mosques, schools, daycares, courtrooms, and hospitals.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The abrasive texture of shark skin repels barnacles and has inspired antimicrobial surface coatings for hospitals; the seeds of a flowering plant offer clues to the designers of probes destined for other worlds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The services side of the economy — restaurants, retailers, hospitals and so forth — employs most Americans.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Only a handful of hospitals in the States had the right equipment and experience to deal with cancer.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
