doctor Definition
doc·tor (däk′tər)
noun
- Archaic a teacher or learned man
- a person who holds a doctorate
- a physician or surgeon (MD)
- a person licensed to practice any of the healing arts, as an osteopath, dentist, veterinarian, etc.
- a title used in addressing any person who holds a doctorate
- a witch doctor or medicine man
- a makeshift device, apparatus, etc., for emergency use
- a bright-colored artificial fly used in fishing
Etymology: ME doctour, teacher, learned man < OFr or < L doctor, teacher < pp. of docere, to teach: see decent
transitive verb
- to try to heal; apply medicine to
- to repair; mend
- to make suitable or improve by altering in a certain way
- to tamper with or change in order to deceive to doctor accounts
intransitive verb
- Informal to practice medicine
- ☆ Dialectal to undergo medical treatment, take medicine, etc.
doctor Related Forms
doctor Synonyms
doctor
n.
A medical practitioner
Doctor of Medicine, M.D., physician, surgeon, family doctor, country doctor, medical attendant, specialist, consultant, intern, resident, house physician, homeopath, primary-care physician, quack*, veterinarian*, animal doctor, vet*, doc*, sawbones*, bones*, medico*, croaker*. * see dentist, medicine 3.Types of doctors include: heart specialist; eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist; respiratory specialist, family doctor, general practitioner, G.P.; anesthetist, anesthesiologist, dentist, podiatrist, internist, pediatrician, neonatologist, oculist, obstetrician, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, public health physician, surgeon, orthopedist, gynecologist, radiologist, neurologist, cardiologist, gerontologist, pathologist, dermatologist, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, laryngologist, urologist, neurologist, osteopath, oncologist, gastroenterologist, allergist, proctologist, hematologist, diathermist, radiothermist; orthopedic surgeon, cardiac surgeon, heart surgeon, plastic surgeon;
Alternates to a doctor include: physician's assistant, midwife, chiropractor, acupuncturist, health-care provider, therapist, Christian Science practitioner, faith healer, witch doctor, shaman, medicine man.
A holder of a doctoral degree
Ph.D., Ed.D., expert, professor, student; see also degree 3, professor, scholar 2, scientist.
doctor Synonyms
doctor
v.
To treat
To change deceptively
tamper with, falsify, adulterate, alter; see adulterate, corrupt 2, disguise.
doctor Usage Examples
Converse of object
- dispense: There is no corresponding provision in the dispensing doctor 's Terms of Service.
- consult: The MMC team are hosting a number of events as part of their efforts to consult doctors, .. .
- prescribe: The prescribing doctor will consider all these factors before deciding exactly what to do.
- qualify: This is a training practice and each year we have a fully qualified doctor attached to us to gain experience in general practice.
- ask: Explain your condition and ask the doctor to visit you.
Converse of subject
prescribe: Taking your medication Whatever drug(s ) you take, it needs to be taken daily exactly as prescribed by the doctor.
Adjective modifier
- junior: Doing 96-hour weeks as a junior hospital doctor turned me off the NHS!
- qualified: This means fully qualified doctors receive specialist training in General Practice.
- overseas: The vast majority of overseas doctors training to get a specialist qualification take one six-month contract after another.
- medical: You, a medical doctor who has the same technology in your body?
- trained: Health systems -- we have a national health service with trained doctors and other health care providers.
Modifies a noun
- internist: Pacula and sturm databasespurchase of individual doctor internist pediatrician.
- pediatrician: Pacula and sturm databasespurchase of individual doctor internist pediatrician.
Noun used with modifier
- spin: I will stop party political spin doctors issuing orders to civil servants.
- witch: He said: " In my country we have witch doctors that can sort anything out.
- hospital: The researchers will then contact either your hospital doctor or GP from time to time to find out how you are getting on.
- trainee: Teachers, nurses, trainee doctors, police officers and IT workers are just a few of the professions from which purchasers are coming.
- on-call: Ideally the on-call doctor should be a member of the Center, and this is possible when the complement of doctors is large enough.
- family: Family doctor services - the first point of contact with the NHS.
Possessives
surgery: The trip to the doctor's surgery made things worse.
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