paramedic

noun para·med·ic \ ˌper-ə-ˈme-dik , ˌpa-rə- \

variants: or less commonly paramedical play \ˌper-ə-ˈme-di-kəl, ˌpa-rə-\

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: The history of paramedic

Definition of paramedic

1 : a person who works in a health field in an auxiliary capacity to a physician (as by giving injections and taking X-rays)

2 : a specially trained medical technician licensed to provide a wide range of emergency services (such as defibrillation and the intravenous administration of drugs) before or during transportation to a hospital — compare emt

See paramedic defined for English-language learners

See paramedic defined for kids

Examples of paramedic in a Sentence

She's training to be a paramedic.

Recent Examples of paramedic from the Web

All parties were evaluated by paramedics and released at the scene.

— gary warth, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Sheriff's patrol car broadsided by vehicle while enroute to accident," 5 July 2018
Hinsdale paramedics were not called to the crash, Lillie said.

— kimberly fornek, chicagotribune.com, "Brookfield driver cited for failure to yield in crash at Phillippa and Ravine in Hinsdale," 3 July 2018
Sandquist was transported to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva by St. Charles paramedics.

— megan jones, Aurora Beacon-News, "St. Charles motorcyclist injured after hitting tree," 28 June 2018
Hours after being released from custody Monday morning, paramedics and Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the actress’ home to treat the 56-year-old for a possible overdose, a source confirmed to PEOPLE.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Heather Locklear's Ex Jack Wagner on Her Arrest & Hospitalization: 'We All Have Our Struggles'," 26 June 2018
Houston paramedics and police officers were called to the crash around 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Hillcroft Avenue and West Orem Drive, near the Sam Houston Tollway and Fort Bend Parkway.

— jay r. jordan, Houston Chronicle, "Motorcyclist dead in southwest Houston crash," 22 June 2018
Garry Kerr worked on the man for 20 minutes before paramedics arrived and he was transported by helicopter to the hospital.

— tod leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "On first golf trip to States, English boy and father recount saving man's life on course," 11 July 2018
Then, a team of Sacramento Fire Department paramedics arrived and wheeled her on a stretcher out of the 13th floor courtroom to an ambulance waiting on the street outside the downtown federal courthouse.

— sam stanton, sacbee, "She nearly pleaded guilty to fraud in a Dixon movie studio scheme. Then she collapsed in court," 6 July 2018
Eventually, paramedics arrived and took him to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

— hannah leone, chicagotribune.com, "Neighbors rush to help man shot in front of his home in Humboldt Park," 5 July 2018

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

The history of paramedic

In ground warfare, wounded troops must usually be transported from the front lines back to field hospitals, and trained paramedical personnel—that is, nondoctors, usually known as medics or corpsmen—were first widely used in such situations. It took many decades for the wartime model to be applied effectively to ordinary peacetime medicine. With advances in medical technology (such as defibrillators, for restarting a heart after a heart attack), paramedics became an essential part of emergency medicine, and today hundreds of thousands of people owe their lives to paramedics. Paraprofessionals who work only in hospitals and clinics usually go by other titles.

First Known Use of paramedic

1967

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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PARAMEDIC Defined for English Language Learners

paramedic

noun

Definition of paramedic for English Language Learners

: a person whose job is to provide emergency medical care to sick or injured people who are being taken to a hospital

PARAMEDIC Defined for Kids

paramedic

noun para·med·ic \ ˌper-ə-ˈme-dik \

Definition of paramedic for Students

: a person specially trained to care for a patient before or during the trip to a hospital

Medical Dictionary

paramedic

noun para·med·ic \ ˌpar-ə-ˈmed-ik \

variants: also paramedical play \-i-kəl\

medical Definition of paramedic

1 : a person who works in a health field in an auxiliary capacity to a physician (as by giving injections and taking X-rays)

2 : a specially trained medical technician certified to provide a wide range of emergency medical services (as defibrillation and the intravenous administration of drugs) before or during transport to the hospital — compare emt