general practitioner

noun

Definition of general practitioner

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty broadly : generalist

Examples of general practitioner in a Sentence

Our family doctor is a general practitioner.

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s hard to find general practitioners, pediatricians and so forth, because these are lower paying but incredibly important roles within our medical system. — WSJ, "Transcript: WSJ Interview With Philadelphia Fed’s Patrick Harker," 16 Nov. 2018 In Canada last year, the median wait time between seeing a general practitioner and following up with a specialist was 10.2 weeks, while the wait between seeing a doctor and beginning treatment was about five months. — Scott W. Atlas, WSJ, "The False Promise of ‘Medicare for All’," 12 Nov. 2018 Local and state health departments, general practitioners and veterinarians will also have recommendations for prevention, treatment and vector control. — Joyce Sakamoto, Washington Post, "Ticks and mosquitoes are ready to deliver disease in a bite, but you can stop them," 18 June 2018 An increasing number of doctors, including general practitioners, are seeking training to use medications such as methadone, buprenorphine or Suboxone to treat patients with drug addictions. — Beth Warren, The Courier-Journal, "Tired of going to funerals, this doctor treats addiction with drugs," 21 June 2018 The first was given a diagnosis of depression by her general practitioner and put on a course of antidepressants. — Anthea Rowan, Washington Post, "A leading psychiatrist’s history of depression helps shape his treatment of young people," 10 June 2018 Some were seen by general practitioners, and only a small percent were seen by specialists. — Steve Rubenstein, San Francisco Chronicle, "Concussion study by UCSF professor identifies ‘public health crisis’," 9 June 2018 The government has said that general practitioners — doctors who are the first port of call for patients — will be asked to provide abortions, although they will still be allowed to conscientiously object to terminations at their clinics. — BostonGlobe.com, "Final results in Ireland show voters overwhelmingly rejected ban on abortions," 27 May 2018 The government has said that general practitioners — doctors who are the first port of call for patients — will be asked to provide abortions, although they will still be allowed to conscientiously object to termination at their clinics. — New York Times, "Ireland Votes to End Abortion Ban, in Rebuke to Catholic Conservatism," 26 May 2018

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

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The first known use of general practitioner was in 1810

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More Definitions for general practitioner

general practitioner

noun

English Language Learners Definition of general practitioner

: a person (especially a doctor) whose work is not limited to a special area : a person who is not a specialist

See the full definition for general practitioner in the English Language Learners Dictionary

general practitioner

noun

Medical Definition of general practitioner

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty Dr. Thomas, Sr., could carry virtually the full armamentarium of the medicine of his day in a single black bag, and very nearly all of medical knowledge in his head. Today the general practitioner is a vanishing breed, and specialists cannot use their time effectively traveling from patient to patient.— John Steele Gordon, American Heritage, 3 May 1992 The primary-care doctor is gaining new respect in Washington. Battles may be breaking out left and right over the various health-care bills emerging from Congress, but reformers on both sides agree that general practitioners should be given a central role in uniting the fragmented U.S. medical system.— Catherine Arnst, Business Week, 6 July 2009