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

My affordability message—to lower grocery costs, housing costs, and health care costs—is resonating with voters of all political stripes, which is why this race is now tied. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

Utilizing nurses and nonmedical support roles such as community health workers and doulas, my colleagues’ initiatives complement existing state efforts and close critical gaps in health care access for rural and low-income Texas families. —Kobi V. Ajayi, The Conversation, 1 Dec. 2025

Rivers said the two spoke about the differences in private and nationalized health care and how the case was being covered in the mainstream media and on social media. —Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025

Many factors play a role in longevity, including everything from genes, access to health care, income, and luck, too. —Allison Aubrey, NPR, 1 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for health care

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

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