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

The town has many general practitioners to choose from, as well as some specialists. —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 10 June 2024

Her parents, Sybil (Silverman) Hazleton and Jessel Hazleton, a general practitioner, raised Lesley and her brother, Ian, her only survivor, in an Orthodox, but not strict, Jewish household. —Penelope Green, New York Times, 7 May 2024

Patients with heart failure are misdiagnosed at a rate of 16% in hospitals and nearly 70% when general practitioners refer patients to specialists, according to a study in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. —Steve Levine, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024

Experiences like Taylor’s aren’t unusual, said Louise Newson, a British general practitioner and menopause expert. —Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

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