hospice

noun

hos·​pice ˈhä-spəs 

1

: a lodging for travelers, young persons, or the underprivileged especially when maintained by a religious order

2

: a program designed to provide palliative care and emotional support to the terminally ill in a home or homelike setting so that quality of life is maintained and family members may be active participants in care

also : a facility that provides such a program

Synonyms of hospice

• hotel
• hostel
• tavern

Examples of hospice in a Sentence

She chose to go to a hospice instead of a hospital.

the monks run a hospice for travelers in their mountain retreat

Recent Examples on the Web

There are more than 100,000 caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers. —Lauren Giella, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

Five decades later, Alive Hospice operates two inpatient facilities in Middle Tennessee and provides in-home hospice care, grief counseling, children's camps, education programs and more. —Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Nov. 2025

Kathleen is sharing her family’s story with PEOPLE as part of Children’s Respite Homes of America, a national movement working to expand pediatric respite and hospice care across the United States. —Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025

Mike Rotunda, a WWE legend known as IRS and father of the late wrestler Bray Wyatt, has entered hospice at 67, according to his loved ones. —Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French hospise, borrowed from Medieval Latin hospitium "hospitality, lodgings, monastic guesthouse, shelter maintained by a religious order for the poor and infirm," going back to Latin,"accommodation of guests, hired lodgings," from hospit-, hospes "guest, host" + -ium, denominal suffix of function or occupation — more at host entry 1

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hospice

noun

hos·​pice ˈhäs-pəs 

1

: an inn for travelers

especially : one kept by a religious order

2

: a place or program for caring for dying persons

Medical Definition

hospice

noun

hos·​pice ˈhäs-pəs 

: a facility or program designed to provide palliative care and emotional support to the terminally ill in a home or homelike setting so that quality of life is maintained and family members may be active participants in care