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

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to put the measure on the ballot, with an allocation plan that will move revenue primarily to nonprofit health care providers and county health departments and hospitals, but also to Planned Parenthood and city health care departments in Pasadena and Long Beach. —Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 10 June 2026

Gonzales wants Medicare for all — a single-payer system that mimics European models of health care. —The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 9 June 2026

When researchers adjusted for things like education levels, income and health care access, the benefits tended to disappear. —Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026

Talks to extend the partnership between the U and Fairview have been ongoing since February 2024, with the two trying to reach agreement on a new health care model. —Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 9 June 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