National Health Service

[ nash-uh-nl helth sur-vis, nash-nuhl ]

noun

1. Great Britain’s publicly funded network of healthcare systems: often used in the United Kingdom as an umbrella term that also includes the Health and Social Care of Northern Ireland. : NHS

National Health Service

noun

1. (in Britain) the system of national medical services since 1948, financed mainly by taxation AbbreviationNHS

Word History and Origins

Origin of National Health Service¹

First recorded in 1880–85 as a recommendation; established in 1946

Example Sentences

Physicians and auxiliary medical personnel are all employed by the state in the national health service.

From Project Gutenberg