bill of health

noun phrase

: a certificate given to the ship's master at the time of leaving port that indicates the state of health of a ship's company and of a port with regard to infectious diseases

: a usually favorable report following an examination or investigation

gave the criticized textbook a clean bill of health

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web After Lulu received a clean bill of health, Dutchess County SPCA made the feline available for adoption and later shared her story with PEOPLE. —

Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2023 Brown received a clean bill of health before his 2023 debut on Monday night. —

Michael Shapiro, Chron, 4 Apr. 2023 With an electric heart transplant, these cars can have a clean(er) bill of health. —

IEEE Spectrum, 23 Oct. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bill of health.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of bill of health was in 1644

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Dictionary Entries Near bill of health

bill of goods

bill of health

bill of indictment

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Bill of health.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bill%20of%20health. Accessed 31 May. 2023.

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Medical Definition

bill of health

noun

ˌbil-əv-

: a duly authenticated certificate of the state of health of a ship's company and of a port with regard to infectious diseases that is given to the ship's master at the time of leaving the port

Last Updated: 4 May 2023 - Updated example sentences