urgent care
noun
1
: medical care provided for illnesses or injuries which require prompt attention but are typically not of such seriousness as to require the services of an emergency room
… they have turned to one of the fastest-growing segments of American health care: urgent care, a common category of walk-in clinics with uncommon interest from Wall Street.—
Julie Creswell
—often used before another nounJulie CreswellIf your leg or arm is sore and swollen, go to an urgent care center; if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or you're coughing up blood, get to an emergency room.—Rick Nathanson
Rick NathansonThe athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.—James S. Keene
James S. Keene2
: medical care of an urgent nature
Strokes now are the focus of a broad new public-awareness campaign labeling them as "brain attacks," needing the same urgent care as heart attacks.—Marilyn Chase
Marilyn ChaseExamples of urgent care in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Not because doctors are abandoning difficult cases, but because not every medical provider has the time (especially those working in urgent care or the emergency room) or collaborative infrastructure needed to solve them.
—Alexandra Sifferlin, STAT, 31 Mar. 2026
Those without health insurance are also still using the health care system, just in the way that Dermott sees in Barton County — the emergency room becomes more like an urgent care, but many people have no way to pay, driving up costs for hospitals.
—Meg Cunningham, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
The center will offer urgent care, primary and specialty care, as well as a diagnostic treatment center, Daniel Chatlos, Jackson’s director of real estate services, told the Trust.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Unitex recently signed a contract with Hartford HealthCare, the parent of Hartford Hospital and seven others in Connecticut, that not only covers the hospitals but a constellation of affiliated services at other locations, including about 50 urgent care centers.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for urgent care
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Alexandra Sifferlin, STAT, 31 Mar. 2026
Those without health insurance are also still using the health care system, just in the way that Dermott sees in Barton County — the emergency room becomes more like an urgent care, but many people have no way to pay, driving up costs for hospitals.
—Meg Cunningham, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
The center will offer urgent care, primary and specialty care, as well as a diagnostic treatment center, Daniel Chatlos, Jackson’s director of real estate services, told the Trust.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Unitex recently signed a contract with Hartford HealthCare, the parent of Hartford Hospital and seven others in Connecticut, that not only covers the hospitals but a constellation of affiliated services at other locations, including about 50 urgent care centers.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for urgent care
Cite this Entry
“Urgent care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urgent%20care. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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