physician

noun

phy·​si·​cian fə-ˈzi-shən 

plural physicians

1

: a person trained in the art of healing

specifically : a health care professional (such as a dermatologist, internist, pediatrician, or urologist) who has earned a medical degree, is clinically experienced, and is licensed to practice medicine as usually distinguished from surgery : a doctor of medicine or a doctor of osteopathic medicine

2

: someone or something that has a beneficial effect or influence

Do justice with mercy. That is what, in essence, the brilliant physician of the heart and soul, Maimonides, tried to teach us 900 years ago.

—Jack Weinstein

Synonyms of physician

• doctor

Examples of physician in a Sentence

you should always consult a physician if you develop a high fever

Recent Examples on the Web

Over a roughly three-month period in 2022, the physician allegedly wrote fraudulent prescriptions for highly addictive medications without ever examining patients, while his son found buyers and collected payments as part of the scheme, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). —Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026

During a season-ending arthroscopic surgery late last season, a physician removed a cartilage fragment within his left knee and performed a mosaicplasty procedure to repair the trochlear joint surface. —Josh Robbins, New York Times, 1 May 2026

Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest not-for-profit health system, plans to expand its neuroscience division within the next five years, increasing to over 90 physicians at the Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute at Baptist Hospital in Kendall. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2026

The instability has left no functioning vehicle to issue the guidance that physicians, insurers, and parents depend on how to make sound vaccination decisions. —Michael C. Burgess, STAT, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English phisicien, fisicien, from Anglo-French, from phisique medicine

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing physician

• family physician
• physician assistant
• physician-assisted suicide
• physician's assistant

Rhymes for physician

• addition
• admission
• ambition
• attrition
• audition
• clinician
• cognition
• coition
• commission
• condition
• contrition
• dentition

Kids Definition

physician

noun

phy·​si·​cian fə-ˈzish-ən 

: a specialist in healing human diseases

especially : one educated and licensed to practice medicine

Medical Definition

physician

noun

phy·​si·​cian fə-ˈzish-ən 

: a health care professional who has earned a medical degree, is clinically experienced, and is licensed to practice medicine : a doctor of medicine or a doctor of osteopathic medicine