health care

noun

variants or healthcare
ˈhelth-ˌker How to pronounce health care (audio)
 also  ˈheltth-
1
: efforts made to maintain, restore, or promote someone's physical, mental, or emotional well-being especially when performed by trained and licensed professionals
affordable health care
Health care is about keeping people healthy or fixing them up when they get sick.Ezekiel J. Emanuel
… has invested more than $500 million to improve access to quality healthcare in rural America …Bemidji Pioneer (online)
… the wearable [device] market is empowering people to take charge of their own healthcare.Rebecca Bellan
sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun
health-care costs
Residents receive their meals, assistance with medications, … limited health-care services, supervision and companionship.Jere Daniel
2
: the people and organizations that provide health care
jobs in health care
The charges speak to some of the problems that face healthcareDave Newbart
sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun
health-care workers
the health-care system/industry

Examples of health care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Regarding health care and social programs, the bill introduces work requirements and cost-sharing measures for Medicaid recipients and tightens eligibility and funding rules for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 May 2025 There will also be a bus tour to visit Elgin’s civic, business, nonprofit, educational and health care sectors. Mike Danahey, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2025 Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, in an email, said that he was alarmed by the decision to cut the funding, adding that many Missourians in need of behavioral health care come to Kansas City. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2025 House Republicans early Thursday delivered on much of Trump’s domestic agenda with a tax-cutting bill that would cost 8.6 million Americans their access to health care through Medicaid or Obamacare subsidies. Philip Elliott, Time, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for health care

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of health care was in 1906

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Health care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health%20care. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

Medical Definition

health care

noun
variants or healthcare
1
: efforts to maintain, restore, or promote someone's physical, mental, or emotional well-being especially when performed by trained and licensed professionals (as in medicine, dentistry, clinical psychology, and public health)
American health care is at a crossroads. Rapidly advancing forms of technology are dramatically improving lives. Simultaneously, U.S. citizens face enormous inefficiencies, escalating costs, uneven quality, disparities in health care, and rising numbers of uninsured people.William H. Frist, The New England Journal of Medicine
Several reviews … reflect that telemedicine can substantially improve the quality of healthcare even under COVID-19 restrictions and measures.Elliot Mbunge et al., Sensors International
sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun
health-care coverage
2
: the personnel and organizations that provide health care
In the attempt to prevent the spread of a viral infection to and from healthcare workers, the health community generally relies on the efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE): gloves, masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, and gowns.Ivo Boskoski et al., Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun
health-care providers

More from Merriam-Webster on health care

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!