public health
noun
: the art and science dealing with the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort and including preventive medicine and sanitary and social science
Examples of public health in a Sentence
a disease that poses a serious threat to public health
She got her degree in public health.
Public health officials warned of an influenza outbreak.
Recent Examples on the Web
Doctors say the change on the federal health agency's site distracts from pressing public health issues and undermines efforts to increase vaccination rates ahead of the peak flu, RSV and COVID-19 season, which typically begins in November and runs through the end of February.
—
Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
What Happens Next The future of federal vaccine policy remains uncertain amid calls from public health leaders to restore long-standing scientific consensus to official communication.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Many scientists and public health experts point out that the tobacco industry promotes and profits from these newer products and that many young non-smokers are using e-cigarettes and becoming addicted to nicotine.
—NPR, 21 Nov. 2025
The committee also voted to require continued funding of COVID-19 vaccines through private and public health insurance and the Vaccines for Children program that provides free vaccines to children who are Medicaid eligible, uninsured or underinsured.
—Elizabeth Lanphier, The Conversation, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for public health
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Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
What Happens Next The future of federal vaccine policy remains uncertain amid calls from public health leaders to restore long-standing scientific consensus to official communication.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Many scientists and public health experts point out that the tobacco industry promotes and profits from these newer products and that many young non-smokers are using e-cigarettes and becoming addicted to nicotine.
—NPR, 21 Nov. 2025
The committee also voted to require continued funding of COVID-19 vaccines through private and public health insurance and the Vaccines for Children program that provides free vaccines to children who are Medicaid eligible, uninsured or underinsured.
—Elizabeth Lanphier, The Conversation, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for public health
Cite this Entry
“Public health.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20health. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
public health
noun
pub·lic health
ˌpəb-lik- 
: the art and science dealing with the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort and including preventive medicine and sanitary and social science
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