Physician
A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a professional who practises medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining, or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.
Both the role of the physician and the meaning of the word itself vary around the world. Degrees and other qualifications vary widely, but there are some common elements, such as medical ethics requiring that physicians show consideration, compassion, and benevolence for their patients.
Doctor (noun)
A medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are D.O., M.D., DMD, DDS, in the US or MBBS in the UK.
“If you still feel unwell tomorrow, see your doctor.”
Doctor (noun)
A person who has attained a doctorate, such as a Ph.D. or Th.D. or one of many other terminal degrees conferred by a college or university.
Doctor (noun)
A veterinarian; a medical practitioner who treats non-human animals.
Doctor (noun)
A nickname for a person who has special knowledge or talents to manipulate or arrange transactions.
Doctor (noun)
A teacher; one skilled in a profession or a branch of knowledge; a learned man.
Doctor (noun)
Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency.
“the doctor of a calico-printing machine, which is a knife to remove superfluous colouring matter”
“the doctor, or auxiliary engine, also called “donkey engine””
Doctor (noun)
A fish, the friar skate.
Doctor (verb)
To act as a medical doctor to.
“Her children doctored her back to health.”
Doctor (verb)
To act as a medical doctor.
Doctor (verb)
To make (someone) into an (academic) doctor; to confer a doctorate upon.
Doctor (verb)
To physically alter (medically or surgically) a living being in order to change growth or behavior.
“They doctored their apple trees by vigorous pruning, and now the dwarfed trees are easier to pick.”
“We may legally doctor a pet to reduce its libido.”
Doctor (verb)
To genetically alter an extant species.
“Mendel’s discoveries showed how the evolution of a species may be doctored.”
Doctor (verb)
To alter or make obscure, as with the intention to deceive, especially a document.
“To doctor the signature of an instrument with intent to defraud is an example of forgery.”
Doctor (verb)
To take medicine.
Physician (noun)
A practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon; a practitioner who treats with medication rather than with surgery.
Physician (noun)
A medical doctor trained in human medicine.