Definition of HOSPITAL

hospital

Plural: hospitals

Noun

  • a health facility where patients receive treatment
  • a medical institution where sick or injured people are given medical or surgical care
  • A large medical facility, usually in a building with multiple floors, where seriously ill or injured patients are given extensive medical or surgical treatment.
  • A building founded for the long-term care of its residents, such as an almshouse.
  • A place of lodging.
  • pl. -S a medical institution

Adj

  • Hospitable.

Examples

  • "Luckily an ambulance arrived quickly and he was rushed to hospital."
  • "Luckily an ambulance arrived quickly and he was rushed to the hospital."
  • "The foundling hospital took in abandoned children and educated them."

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English hospital, hospitall, from Old French hospital (Modern French hôpital), from Late Latin hospitālis, hospitāle (“hospice, shelter, guesthouse”), from noun use of Latin hospitālis (“hospitable”), from hospes (“host, guest”). Doublet of hotel and hostel. Displaced native Middle English lechehous, from Old English lǣċehūs (literally “doctor house”).

Synonyms

infirmary, sickhouse

Scrabble Score: 13

hospital: valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
hospital: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hospital: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

hospital is a valid Words With Friends word