Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

locum tenens

noun lo·cum te·nens \ ˈlō-kəm-ˈtē-ˌnenz , -ˈte- , -nənz \

Definition of locum tenens

plural locum tenentes play \ˈlō-kəm-ti-ˈnen-ˌtēz\
:one filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another —used especially of a doctor or clergyman

From the M-W Editors

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students
one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III
tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Examples of locum tenens in a Sentence

  1. I'm just a locum tenens, so any major decisions should be deferred until your regular doctor returns from vacation.

Origin and Etymology of locum tenens

Medieval Latin, literally, (one) holding a place

locum tenens Synonyms

Synonyms
backup, cover, designated hitter, fill-in, substitute, pinch hitter, relief, replacement, reserve, stand-in, sub
Related Words
alternate, understudy; apology, makeshift, stopgap; agent, assignee, attorney, commissary, delegate, deputy, envoy, factor, procurator, proxy, rep, representative, surrogate; assistant, reliever, second; successor, superseder

Medical Dictionary

locum tenens

noun lo·cum te·nens \ ˌlō-kəm-ˈtē-ˌnenz, -nənz \

medical Definition of locum tenens

plural locum tenentes play \-ti-ˈnen-ˌtēz\
:a medical practitioner who temporarily takes the place of another

Learn More about locum tenens

  1. See words that rhyme with locum tenens Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for locum tenens

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up locum tenens? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

nuncupative

play

spoken rather than written

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. imbroglio "a public scandal"

  2. spurious of a deceitful nature or quality

  3. righteous We provide an assortment of definitions

  4. Kafkaesque 'A nightmarish quality'

  5. mike "microphone"

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

  • one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
  • Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59ea52ed7b96f
Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6
The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

alt-59e8c3440f453
I'll Have the Us(ual)

Shortening 'usual': easy to say, hard to spell

alt-59e77dc36c593
The Origins of 'Lobbyist'

From the front hallways to the back rooms

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots
The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz
knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus
Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game
Examples: locum tenens in a Sentence