urgent care

noun

1

: medical care provided for illnesses or injuries which require prompt attention but are typically not of such seriousness as to require the services of an emergency room

… they have turned to one of the fastest-growing segments of American health care: urgent care, a common category of walk-in clinics with uncommon interest from Wall Street.

—Julie Creswell

—often used before another noun

If your leg or arm is sore and swollen, go to an urgent care center; if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or you're coughing up blood, get to an emergency room.

—Rick Nathanson

The athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.

—James S. Keene

2

: medical care of an urgent nature

Strokes now are the focus of a broad new public-awareness campaign labeling them as "brain attacks," needing the same urgent care as heart attacks.

—Marilyn Chase

Examples of urgent care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Forty million Americans live with diabetes, and heat can quickly drive dehydration, disrupt daily routines, and destabilize blood sugar, sometimes requiring urgent care. —Anthony Nicome, STAT, 13 May 2026

There will be plenty of time to go to urgent care in June, if needed. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 9 May 2026

So far this year, places where Californians could’ve been exposed to measles have included Los Angeles International Airport, Disneyland, stores, restaurants, an emergency room, an urgent care center, a gym and what authorities described as an educational enrichment program for children. —Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026

In another example, Hartford HealthCare’s – GoHealth Urgent Care has opened new urgent care centers in Willimantic and Ellington in 2024. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 5 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for urgent care

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware