doctor

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

noun [countable] British English pronunciation: doctor

/ˈdɒktə(r)/

singular	doctor
plural	doctors

Related thesaurus entries

Am/Br differences

1
someone whose job is to treat people who are ill or injured. When written as a title, the abbreviation of doctor is Dr. A doctor who performs medical operations is called a surgeon. A doctor who treats people in an area or town is called a GP. The most senior type of doctor in a hospital is called a consultant. Someone being treated by a doctor or nurse is called a patient
Hannah had always wanted to be a doctor.
Doctor Jones specializes in heart problems.
go to/see a doctor:
Have you seen a doctor yet?
ask/consult a doctor:
If you are overweight, consult your doctor before trying these exercises.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of doctor
2
someone who has the highest degree given by a university
a doctor of theology
The research team is led by Doctor Beth Levinson.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of doctor

phrase

just what the doctor ordered
something that is exactly what you need or want
Our holiday in Tahiti was just what the doctor ordered.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of doctor

Am/Br differences: doctor

In the UK, a doctor who works in a local community, not in a hospital, is called a GP or a general practitioner (or sometimes a family doctor), and has the title Dr: Could I have an appointment with Dr Jones, please? But surgeons (=doctors who perform operations on people), dentists (=doctors who look after people’s teeth), and vets (=doctors who look after animals) are all referred to by the titles Mr, Mrs, or Miss. In the US, however, all of these doctors use the title Dr.

This is the British English definition of doctor. View American English definition of doctor.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

slime

a thick, wet, unpleasant substance that covers something

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog

Did you know?