hospital
Americannoun
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an institution in which sick or injured people are given medical or surgical treatment.
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a similar establishment for the care of animals.
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a repair shop for specific portable objects: doll hospital.
violin hospital;
doll hospital.
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British. an institution supported by charity or taxes for people in need of care, as a children's home or nursing home.
noun
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an institution for the medical, surgical, obstetric, or psychiatric care and treatment of patients
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(modifier) having the function of a hospital
a hospital ship
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a repair shop for something specified
a dolls' hospital
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archaic a charitable home, hospice, or school
Other Word Forms
- minihospital noun
- multihospital adjective
- posthospital adjective
Etymology
Origin of hospital
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (h)ospital, “lodging for pilgrims and travelers, hostel,” Old French (h)ospital, from Medieval Latin hospitāle “guesthouse, inn,” noun use of neuter of Latin hospitālis “hospitable,” equivalent to hospit- stem of hospes “guest, visitor, host” + -ālis -al 1 ( def. ); hospitium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has been deployed in debates ranging from conditions in armed forces housing to the sewerage system of a Cornish hospital.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
I was born in the wee hours of Dec.15, 1980 at St. Mary’s Hospital, now Hoboken University Medical, the same hospital where Frank Sinatra was born.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
WASHINGTON—Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was taken to a hospital and given fluids for dehydration last month after attending a dinner in his honor in Philadelphia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Comedian Eugene Mirman, the voice of Gene on ‘Bob’s Burgers,’ was pulled from a fiery car crash and taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
“When he got out of the hospital, he got his ear pierced.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
