paramedic

noun

para·​med·​ic ˌper-ə-ˈme-dik 

ˌpa-rə-

variants or less commonly paramedical

ˌper-ə-ˈme-di-kəl 

ˌpa-rə-

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

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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.

Examples of paramedic in a Sentence

She's training to be a paramedic.

Recent Examples on the Web

As most people know at this point, my mom is an ER nurse, my dad is a paramedic. —Carita Rizzo, Deadline, 2 June 2026

Israeli attacks have since killed more than 3,412 people, including 133 paramedics, Lebanese authorities say, and systematically razed entire villages in Lebanon’s south. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

No identifying information was provided about the pedestrians who were hit, but Takahara said one person died at the scene and paramedics took two others to the hospital with serious and critical injuries. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 1 June 2026

Clough, who lives in Encinitas with his wife, Veronika, and their two rescue cats, also has two adult children and started Plastic Beach in 2019, after earlier careers as a police officer in Hong Kong, an EMT and paramedic in London, and a stay-at-home dad. —Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for paramedic

• melchizedek
• medic

Kids Definition

paramedic

noun

para·​med·​ic ˌpar-ə-ˈmed-ik 

1

: a person who works in a health field by helping a physician (as by taking X-rays or giving injections)

2

: a specially trained person with a license to provide a wide range of emergency services (as the giving of intravenous drugs) before or during transport to a hospital

Etymology

from para- "alongside of, associated with in a secondary or assisting role" and medic "a person trained in or studying medical work"; para- derived from Greek para "beside, alongside of" and medic from Latin medicus "physician"

Medical Definition

paramedic

noun

para·​med·​ic ˌpar-ə-ˈmed-ik 

variants also paramedical

-i-kəl 

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