urgent care

noun

1

: medical care provided for illnesses or injuries which require prompt attention but are typically not of such seriousness as to require the services of an emergency room

… they have turned to one of the fastest-growing segments of American health care: urgent care, a common category of walk-in clinics with uncommon interest from Wall Street.

—Julie Creswell

—often used before another noun

If your leg or arm is sore and swollen, go to an urgent care center; if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or you're coughing up blood, get to an emergency room.

—Rick Nathanson

The athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.

—James S. Keene

2

: medical care of an urgent nature

Strokes now are the focus of a broad new public-awareness campaign labeling them as "brain attacks," needing the same urgent care as heart attacks.

—Marilyn Chase

Examples of urgent care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Anyone who thinks they might've been exposed to measles at the urgent care location should reach out to their doctor or hospital before visiting. —Alexandra Simon, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026

The billing is the same as a hospital emergency department, which tends to be more expensive than an urgent care or primary care visit. —Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 4 Feb. 2026

Like many families, Resnikoff and his partner navigated urgent care clinics, referrals, and long waits between specialists. —Kaitlyn Gomez, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026

That day, at the suggestion of Vrabel and head athletic trainer Jim Whalen, Williams visited an urgent care center in Foxboro, where he was first diagnosed with a stomach virus. —Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for urgent care

• aftercare
• anywhere
• billionaire
• chinaware
• debonair
• dinnerware
• disrepair
• doctrinaire
• earthenware
• everywhere
• frigidaire
• kitchenware