health care

noun

variants or healthcare
ˈhelth-ˌker How to pronounce health care (audio)
 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
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 healthcareDave 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But what’s most important is that women see a health care provider, that practitioners from dentists to primary care doctors know how to help, and that the treatment is covered. Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025 Ascension Wisconsin patients insured by UnitedHealthcare are scrambling to find new doctors or rearrange their health care plans, after contract negotiations between the health system and insurer failed. Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025 Across the country, media and immigration advocates have reported overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and issues with food and health care access — a byproduct of a rapid scaling-up of immigration arrests. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 6 Oct. 2025 The new recommendations mean people ages 6 months and older can get Covid-19 vaccines after consulting with a qualified health care provider, which keeps the shots available but may also create more barriers to access than in past years. Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for health care

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of health care was in 1906

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Health care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health%20care. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on health care

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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