public health

noun

: the art and science dealing with the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort and including preventive medicine and sanitary and social science

Examples of public health in a Sentence

a disease that poses a serious threat to public health

She got her degree in public health.

Public health officials warned of an influenza outbreak.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hearing that a single lab test did not confirm the presence of the parasite might be confusing—but one data point, like a negative test or a retraction, does not automatically mean public health investigators have it wrong. — Lisa Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former public health official Nirav Shah ended their campaigns. — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 20 July 2026

Pandemic plans should be repeatedly rehearsed with all critical participants, public and private, from the White House down to local public health agencies. — David Blumenthal, STAT, 20 July 2026

The disease may have stowed away as early as Captain Cook’s colonial voyage, but it only became regarded as a public health issue eighty years later. — Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1617, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for public health

• commonwealth
• telehealth
• bridewealth
• stealth
• wealth

Medical Definition

public health

noun

pub·​lic health ˌpəb-lik- 

: the art and science dealing with the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort and including preventive medicine and sanitary and social science