health care

noun

variants or healthcare

ˈhelth-ˌker 

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

single-payer/universal 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 healthcare …

—Dave 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

In fact, one specific area where AI is making a palpable difference in health care is in cancer treatment, where Caris Life Sciences is leveraging the technology in pursuit of cutting-edge breakthroughs in oncology. —Dallas Morning News, 1 Feb. 2026

Getting trained as a plumber, welder or home health care aide increasingly looks more attractive than getting a degree in gender studies, sociology or even computer science. —Richard K. Vedder, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026

His extensive financial experience includes senior leadership positions at Sinai Health Systems in Chicago, Pinnacle Hospital in Crown Point and other health care organizations in Illinois and Northwest Indiana, the release said. —Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2026

In other cases, consumers get a single bill itemized with charges from the health care provider and the hospital. —Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for health care

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

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