urgent care

noun

1

: medical care provided for illnesses or injuries which require prompt attention but are typically not of such seriousness as to require the services of an emergency room

… they have turned to one of the fastest-growing segments of American health care: urgent care, a common category of walk-in clinics with uncommon interest from Wall Street.

—Julie Creswell

—often used before another noun

If your leg or arm is sore and swollen, go to an urgent care center; if you have chest pain, shortness of breath or you're coughing up blood, get to an emergency room.

—Rick Nathanson

The athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.

—James S. Keene

2

: medical care of an urgent nature

Strokes now are the focus of a broad new public-awareness campaign labeling them as "brain attacks," needing the same urgent care as heart attacks.

—Marilyn Chase

Examples of urgent care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

BayCare health care system said some of its ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, laboratories, urgent care facilities and medical group offices are opening on Friday, according to an update on its website. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2024

These tests are now available in healthcare settings such as hospitals, pharmacies, health clinics, urgent care centers, and mobile testing clinics across the country. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 25 Sep. 2024

With almost daily bombings and the declining ability of Gaza hospitals to care for patients, WHO estimates a total of 13,000 people need urgent care. —Jane Arraf, NPR, 31 Aug. 2024

The urgent care center in Hendersonville has been treating about 40 patients a day since reopening, a slightly higher number than usual, according to Sawyer. —Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined at sense 1