hospital

noun, often attributive

hos·pi·tal | \ ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-tᵊl

Definition of hospital

1 : a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young

2 : an institution where the sick or injured are given medical or surgical care —usually used in British English without an article after a preposition

3 : a repair shop for specified small objects a clock hospital

Examples of hospital in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The younger man received medical attention at a local hospital. — cleveland, "Boy, 16, arrested after threatening parents with screwdriver: Cleveland Heights police blotter," 18 Jan. 2020 Authorities identified the shooting victim as 21-year-old La’Warrior Gardener, who died a short time later at the hospital. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Georgia murder, kidnapping suspect nabbed in Alabama; infant boy recovered," 18 Jan. 2020 Houchen said shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday that the woman who was rescued from the home had died at the hospital. — Billy Kobin, The Courier-Journal, "Officials: Woman and dog died after a house caught fire in Floyds Knobs, Indiana," 17 Jan. 2020 As has been reported, our friend Greg Page suffered a cardiac arrest at the end of the bushfire relief performance and was taken to hospital. — Lauren Huff, EW.com, "The Wiggles singer Greg Page suffers cardiac arrest during Australian bushfires relief concert," 17 Jan. 2020 All were patients at the hospital and ranged in age from 3 months to 2 years. — Elizabeth Zavala, ExpressNews.com, "‘Killer nurse’ Genene Jones sentenced to life in prison," 16 Jan. 2020 Hacker sustained critical injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the hospital. — Madeline Mitchell, Cincinnati.com, "Man killed in Over-the-Rhine motorcycle crash Tuesday afternoon, police said," 15 Jan. 2020 Twelve hours later, just after 2:30 p.m., a 37-year-old male was shot in southeast Baltimore, and later died at the hospital. — Josiah Bates, Time, "12 People Shot, 5 Killed in Single Day of Shootings in Baltimore," 13 Jan. 2020 Johnson died Friday at the hospital where he was being treated, according to IMPD. — Holly V. Hays, Indianapolis Star, "Police: 76-year-old man dies 4 days after telling officers his friend shot him," 10 Jan. 2020

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

History and Etymology for hospital

Middle English hospital, ospitale "residence for pilgrims and travelers, charitable institution providing residence for the poor and infirm," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin hospitāle, going back to Latin, in plural hospitālia "guest accommodations" (probably by ellipsis from hospitāle cubiculum "sleeping room for guests"), noun derivative from neuter of hospitālis "of a guest, of hospitality, hospitable," from hospit-, hospes "guest, host" + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at host entry 3

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Last Updated

21 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Hospital.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hospital. Accessed 22 January 2020.

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More Definitions for hospital

hospital

noun

English Language Learners Definition of hospital

: a place where sick or injured people are given care or treatment and where children are often born

See the full definition for hospital in the English Language Learners Dictionary

hospital

noun

hos·pi·tal | \ ˈhä-ˌspi-tᵊl

Kids Definition of hospital

: a place where the sick and injured are given medical care

hospital

noun, often attributive

hos·pi·tal | \ ˈhäs-ˌpit-ᵊl

Medical Definition of hospital

1 : a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young

2a : an institution where the sick or injured are given medical or surgical care —when used in British English following a preposition, the article is usually omitted came and saw me in hospital— Robert Graves

b : a place for the care and treatment of sick and injured animals

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