physician assistant

noun

: a person certified to provide basic medical services usually under the supervision of a licensed physician

called also PA, physician's assistant

Examples of physician assistant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Health care professionals doing the most invasive treatments, meaning nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses or physicians. —David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2026

Just five staff members support roughly 80 volunteers, including doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. —Daniel Wilkerson, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026

The person examining you is wearing a white coat or scrubs and a stethoscope but could be a physician assistant. —Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2026

Those cases are believed to be centered at Ave Maria University, according to Anthony Musingo, a certified physician assistant at the Mater Dei Clinic in Ave Maria. —Doris Alvarez Cea, Florida Times-Union, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for physician assistant

• coexistent
• equidistant
• inconsistent
• nonexistent
• preexistent
• consistent
• existent
• insistent
• persistent
• resistant
• subsistent
• distant

Medical Definition

physician assistant

noun

physician as·​sis·​tant

-ə-ˈsis-tənt

variants also physician's assistant

: a specially trained person who is certified to provide basic medical services (as the diagnosis and treatment of common ailments) usually under the supervision of a licensed physician

called also PA