general practitioner

noun

: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty
broadly : generalist

Examples of general practitioner in a Sentence

Our family doctor is a general practitioner.
Recent Examples on the Web Under Britain’s system, any patients wanting a cancer diagnosis need to begin with a visit their local family doctor, or general practitioner — because the only way to access tests or specialist care is via a referral from a GP. Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024 However, the cost is much more affordable than in the United States — a dental cleaning starts from $33 and a visit with a general practitioner will cost you less than $65, ICI states. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2024 Talbert continued to seek out answers and treatment options, visiting multiple general practitioners and specialists. Essence, 9 Jan. 2024 Their parents worked in medicine: Ronald, their father, was a general practitioner and Mary, their mom, worked as a nurse at a nutritional research center at Tufts University, according to ELLE. Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 10 Dec. 2023 No prescription medications for nail fungus were prescribed in 82% of the dermatology visits and 78.9% of general practitioner visits.2 If the condition is so common, why don’t more people get treatment? Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 16 Nov. 2023 This service has a trustworthy team of a general practitioner (primary care physician), urologist, and nurse practitioner who medically review all patients. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2023 Primary care doctors, also known as general practitioners or family doctors, are supposed to be the first to see patients, catching potential problems early. Carson Terbush, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023 In the 18 months after her C-section, the woman went to both her general practitioner and the Auckland City Hospital’s emergency department with stomach pain, according to the decision. Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'general practitioner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of general practitioner was in 1810

Dictionary Entries Near general practitioner

Cite this Entry

“General practitioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/general%20practitioner. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

general practitioner

noun
: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty

Medical Definition

general practitioner

noun
: a physician or veterinarian whose practice is not limited to a specialty
Dr. Thomas, Sr., could carry virtually the full armamentarium of the medicine of his day in a single black bag, and very nearly all of medical knowledge in his head. Today the general practitioner is a vanishing breed, and specialists cannot use their time effectively traveling from patient to patient.John Steele Gordon, American Heritage
The primary-care doctor is gaining new respect in Washington. Battles may be breaking out left and right over the various health-care bills emerging from Congress, but reformers on both sides agree that general practitioners should be given a central role in uniting the fragmented U.S. medical system.Catherine Arnst, Business Week

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