as in outpatients
a person who stays for one or more nights in a hospital for medical treatment
—often used before another noun
inpatient surgery It was inpatient treatment that required a lengthy hospital stay.
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Recent Examples of inpatients
Managing or controlling vending machines with vapes or nicotine products is also an offense, unless in mental health hospitals mainly for inpatients.
—
Chad De Guzman, Time, 23 Apr. 2026
The hospital shuttered its emergency department on Wednesday, and then worked to transfer its inpatients to other hospitals by the end of the day Friday.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
In that time, the number of people admitted to hospitals in the state as inpatients due to heat increased 60%, from 990 to 1,578.
—Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Outpatient services at the neighboring hospital were suspended and around 3,500 inpatients were evacuated, per the Post.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Chad De Guzman, Time, 23 Apr. 2026
The hospital shuttered its emergency department on Wednesday, and then worked to transfer its inpatients to other hospitals by the end of the day Friday.
—Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
In that time, the number of people admitted to hospitals in the state as inpatients due to heat increased 60%, from 990 to 1,578.
—Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Outpatient services at the neighboring hospital were suspended and around 3,500 inpatients were evacuated, per the Post.
—Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inpatients
Noun
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The study also found that the number of children aged fiveto 17 who were prescribed leucovorin as outpatients increased by 71 percent.—
Sara Novak,
Scientific American,
5 Mar. 2026
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When people were also treated with a long-acting form of an opioid-blocking medication called naltrexone, relapse rates dropped across all settings — to 59% after short-term inpatient care, 46% after long-term inpatient care and 38% for those treated as outpatients.—
Emma Fenske,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In several instances, the Tribune found, the private guardian and its lawyers billed the former hospital patients for thousands of dollars in fees on top of hefty nursing home costs, quickly draining lifelong savings.—
Emily Hoerner,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
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His room came with a balcony and a wooden lounge chair for taking a rest cure, just as patients did a century ago.—
Adam Kirsch,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inpatients.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inpatients. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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