general practitioner

noun

: 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

Part of that, yes, is the fact that a big-time New York City neurosurgeon becoming a general practitioner in small town Everwood, Colorado, means Andy can instantly and intimately interact and oftentimes clash with his new neighbors. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025

The inhabitants include a grocer, a travel agent, a general practitioner, a mayor. —James Wood, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

Lowe went to his general practitioner at the time, who recommended a colonoscopy. —Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2025

Grumpy and delightfully curt, Martin gives up his successful career as a surgeon after developing a fear of blood and takes over as a general practitioner in a small seaside town called Portwenn full of reliably quirky characters. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for general practitioner

• commissioner
• conditioner
• parishioner
• petitioner
• positioner
• missioner

Kids Definition

general practitioner

noun

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

Medical Definition

general practitioner

noun

: 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

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