health care

noun

variants or healthcare

ˈhelth-ˌker 

 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

single-payer/universal 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 healthcare …

—Dave 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

One reason for the deterioration could be the lack of access to health care during the pandemic, Shuey said. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024

Dhingra has been the CFO of other companies in the health care sector, most recently Summit Therapeutics Inc. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024

While 23% reported being uninsured, an additional 28% found other coverage — through an employer, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplace, or health care for members of the military, the survey by KFF found. —Phil Galewitz, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024

The attack was the Israeli military’s second siege of Al-Shifa Hospital, previously the largest health care provider in Gaza. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024

The Idaho Statesman is reporting in 2024 on the implications of Idaho’s health care shortage. —Darin Oswald, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024

Please reach out with your questions about public health or the health care system. —Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024

The creation of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s prompted policy experts to pay more attention to the cost-effectiveness of health care administration. —TIME, 10 Apr. 2024

Jericho Share operates as a health care sharing ministry, meaning it is made up of a group of people with common religious, or other, beliefs who decide to split medical expenses among members. —Stephen Hobbs, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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)

We developed penicillin, heart surgery and transplants, among many other breakthroughs that have transformed health care.

—Thomas Fishbein

Medicare payments for home healthcare will also be reduced by $40 billion over 10 years.

—Peter Grier

—sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

health-care coverage

2

: the personnel and organizations that provide health care

Pregnant health care workers should wash their hands more frequently than usual and be extra-careful when handling infectious objects.

—Maria LaPiana

—sometimes hyphenated when used before another noun

health-care providers