hospital
Americannoun
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hospitals
plural
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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:
On the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cooper recently talked about the case of two-year-old Finlay Roberts, who died in 2024 after spending hours in a hospital corridor before being discharged.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The injured teens - three boys aged 16 and two aged 17 - were taken to hospital.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The 53-year-old senator began experiencing numbness in his arm and was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined he had suffered a stroke.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Police and paramedics responded, and Mann was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
But nights can mean frantic calls for the police, or for an ambulance or the hospital.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
More than 90 hospitals across England have been using the alert system in children's wards, with different age-appropriate assessments available for babies through to teenagers.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Bernstein analyst Lance Wilkes, who is more optimistic about a compromise, wrote that the potential relief for hospitals appears to be reflected in their current multiples.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Plans to close urgent primary care services at three hospitals would have "dire consequences", objectors say.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Instead we used micro-CT scanning, the same X-ray technology used in hospitals but fine enough to resolve tiny bones.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
I’ve been on the roof of dozens of hospitals through the years.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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