ambulatory

adjective am·bu·la·to·ry \ ˈam-byə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Examples: ambulatory in a Sentence

Definition of ambulatory

1 a : able to walk about and not bedridden

ambulatory patients

b : performed on or involving an ambulatory patient or an outpatient

ambulatory medical care

an ambulatory electrocardiogram

2 : of, relating to, or adapted to walking

ambulatory exercise

; also : occurring during a walk

an ambulatory conversation

3 : moving from place to place : itinerant

for years led an ambulatory life

4 law : capable of being altered

a will is ambulatory until the testator's death

—

ambulatorily

play \ˌam-byə-lə-ˈtȯr-ə-lē\ adverb

See ambulatory defined for kids

Examples of ambulatory in a Sentence

ambulatory theatrical companies that brought live theater to small towns across America

Recent Examples of ambulatory from the Web

Built for about $33 million and equipped for another $20 million, the facility is not a hospital or trauma center, but an ambulatory surgical center with 17 medical specialties and imaging and diagnostic services.

— ron hurtibise, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Cleveland Clinic readies new $53 million Coral Springs Family Health Center," 13 July 2018
In addition to the acute care hospital, the campus includes an outpatient surgery and ambulatory care center, medical arts center and a state-of-the-art cancer treatment center.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "A visionary volunteer steps away from leading Harford's hospitals," 13 July 2018
Raibert had become like Antonio Stradivari, but for ambulatory robots instead of violins.

— scott kirsner, BostonGlobe.com, "After viral YouTube fame, Boston Dynamics is ready to sell its robots," 6 July 2018
Thus employees lack a strong financial incentive to seek out cheaper options, such as using a telemedicine service to diagnose pinkeye or having a hip replaced at an ambulatory surgery center instead of a hospital.

— joel klein, WSJ, "The IRS Can Save American Health Care," 1 July 2018
The much more ambitious Fort Mitchell project at Buttermilk Pike was to include the ambulatory surgical center, an emergency department and a diagnostic center.

— anne saker, Cincinnati.com, "Judge blocks Christ Hospital's efforts to expand in Northern Kentucky," 23 June 2018
Two years ago, the clinic successfully challenged Texas' HB2 law, which forced facilities offering abortions to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers, or ASTCs, and required providers to have hospital admitting privileges.

— refinery29.com, "This Abortion Provider Is Leading A Major Lawsuit Against Texas," 15 June 2018
The agreement continues Marshfield Clinic’s push to add hospitals to its network of clinics, ambulatory surgical centers and other services throughout north-central and northern Wisconsin.

— guy boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Expanding rural health care efforts, Beaver Dam Community Hospitals to join Marshfield Clinic Health System," 12 June 2018
Growth Physician Partners of America is building a medical pavilion in Orlando with a 9,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and more than 4,600 square feet of medical offices.

— naseem s. miller, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Florida Breast Cancer Foundation opens first regional office in Orlando," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ambulatory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ambulatory

see ambulate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1598

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

ambulatory Synonyms

Synonyms

ambulant, errant, fugitive, gallivanting (also galavanting), itinerant, nomad, nomadic, perambulatory, peregrine, peripatetic, ranging, roaming, roving, vagabond, vagrant, wandering, wayfaring;

Near Antonyms

immobile, nonmoving, settled, standing, static, stationary;

motionless, still;

sauntering, strolling, traipsing, walking;

migrant, migratory;

Phrases

on the move;

ambulatory

noun

Definition of ambulatory

plural ambulatories

: a sheltered place (as in a cloister or church) for walking

Recent Examples of ambulatory from the Web

Shares of Envision, which also provides post-acute care and ambulatory-surgery services, have fallen 23% over the past year amid questions about its billing for emergency services and disappointing performance.

— aisha al-muslim, WSJ, "KKR to Acquire Envision Healthcare for $5.5 Billion," 11 June 2018
Under Johnson’s watch, Ingalls developed a network of ambulatory care centers in Calumet City, Crestwood, Flossmoor, South Holland and Tinley Park, and starting in 2015 led Ingalls to pursue a combination with University of Chicago Medicine.

— mike nolan, Daily Southtown, "Ingalls Hospital president to retire," 9 June 2018
In an ambulatory setting, the total cost of Essure procedures was found to be $1,287 per case and laparoscopic procedures $1,398 per case, according to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "Essure or surgery? New study compares contraceptive risks," 13 Mar. 2018
For example, Ohio could choose the ambulatory care standards from one benchmark plan and the preventive services from another.

— Washington Post, "The Health 202: The Trump administration is giving states another way around Obamacare regulations," 7 Feb. 2018
Gonnelli was the developer for LourdesCare at Cherry Hill, a 55,000 square-foot ambulatory care center.

— harold brubaker, Philly.com, "Lourdes owner files counterclaim against Cooper," 7 Feb. 2018
UnitedHealth has said Optum aims to provide primary care and ambulatory services in 75 markets, representing about two-thirds of the U.S. population.

— anna wilde mathews, WSJ, "UnitedHealth to Buy Large Doctor Group for $4.9 Billion," 6 Dec. 2017
Calpers changed its benefits five years ago to nudge patients toward the cheaper ambulatory option, a spokesman said, and will expand its plan to include a dozen more surgeries starting in January.

— melanie evans, WSJ, "Warding Off Decline, Hospitals Invest in Outpatient Clinics," 25 Sep. 2017
Boone defends his claims of fraud with a specific formula, dividing the number of ambulatory, handicapped adults in Connecticut by the state’s population.

— vinny vella, Courant Community, "Citing Fraud, Hartford Charges Handicapped Drivers To Park," 5 Sep. 2017

Origin and Etymology of ambulatory

see ambulate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1616

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Medical Dictionary

ambulatory

adjective am·bu·la·to·ry \ ˈam-byə-lə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr- \

medical Definition of ambulatory

1 : of, relating to, or adapted to walking

ambulatory exercise

2 a : able to walk about and not bedridden

an ambulatory patient

All patients were ambulatory before hip fracture.
—Karim Anton Calis and Frank Pucino, The New England Journal of Medicine, 1 Nov. 2007

b : performed on or involving a patient who is able to walk about

Some patients report that ambulatory oxygen therapy helps relieve exercise-related breathlessness.
—Dennis E. Niewoehner, The New England Journal of Medicine, 15 Apr. 2010

c : performed on or provided to an outpatient

ambulatory care

Ambulatory surgical procedures have proliferated in recent years as a result of increases in the cost of inpatient health services.
—Mark A. Warner et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association, 22 Sept. 1993

also : relating to or intended for outpatient care

ambulatory surgery centers

d : performed on or worn by a patient during the course of normal daily activities (such as working and sleeping)

Rather than treat all patients on the basis of office blood pressure readings, some clinicians … maintain that certain patients should first be fitted with ambulatory blood pressure monitors that automatically record their blood pressure every 15 minutes or so throughout the day and night.
—Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, 28 Nov. 1995

also : obtained by ambulatory monitoring