health care
noun
variants
or healthcare
ˈhelth-ˌker 
also ˈheltth-
1
: efforts made to maintain, restore, or promote someone's physical, mental, or emotional well-being especially when performed by trained and licensed professionals
affordable health care
single-payer/universal health care
Health care is about keeping people healthy or fixing them up when they get sick.—
Ezekiel J. Emanuel
Ezekiel J. Emanuel… has invested more than $500 million to improve access to quality healthcare in rural America …—Bemidji Pioneer (online)
Bemidji Pioneer (online)… the wearable [device] market is empowering people to take charge of their own healthcare.—Rebecca Bellan
—sometimes hyphenated when used before another nounRebecca Bellanhealth-care costs
Residents receive their meals, assistance with medications, … limited health-care services, supervision and companionship.—Jere Daniel
Jere Daniel2
: the people and organizations that provide health care
jobs in health care
The charges speak to some of the problems that face healthcare …—Dave Newbart
—sometimes hyphenated when used before another nounDave Newbarthealth-care workers
the health-care system/industry
Examples of health care in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At those rates, without a significant change in policy or health care costs, the general fund would be squeezed to nearly nothing in the next 15 years, according to an analysis by the governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
For hospitals, the H-1B visa program is crucial to recruiting doctors in remote parts of the country where there are in some cases severe shortages of health care workers.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
Premiums vary due to local costs of physicians, hospitals and other health care providers.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Republicans picked a fight over health care in 2013, pressing to defund the Affordable Care Act, and Democrats refused to deal with them.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for health care
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Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
For hospitals, the H-1B visa program is crucial to recruiting doctors in remote parts of the country where there are in some cases severe shortages of health care workers.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Sep. 2025
Premiums vary due to local costs of physicians, hospitals and other health care providers.
—David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Republicans picked a fight over health care in 2013, pressing to defund the Affordable Care Act, and Democrats refused to deal with them.
—Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for health care
Cite this Entry
“Health care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health%20care. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
health care
noun
variants
or healthcare
1
: efforts to maintain, restore, or promote someone's physical, mental, or emotional well-being especially when performed by trained and licensed professionals (as in medicine, dentistry, clinical psychology, and public health)
American health care is at a crossroads. Rapidly advancing forms of technology are dramatically improving lives. Simultaneously, U.S. citizens face enormous inefficiencies, escalating costs, uneven quality, disparities in health care, and rising numbers of uninsured people.—William H. Frist, The New England Journal of Medicine
William H. Frist, The New England Journal of MedicineSeveral reviews … reflect that telemedicine can substantially improve the quality of healthcare even under COVID-19 restrictions and measures.—Elliot Mbunge et al., Sensors International
—sometimes hyphenated when used before another nounElliot Mbunge et al., Sensors Internationalhealth-care coverage
2
: the personnel and organizations that provide health care
In the attempt to prevent the spread of a viral infection to and from healthcare workers, the health community generally relies on the efficacy of personal protective equipment (PPE): gloves, masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, and gowns.—Ivo Boskoski et al., Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
—sometimes hyphenated when used before another nounIvo Boskoski et al., Gastrointestinal Endoscopyhealth-care providers
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