Meaning & use
healthcare
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The services and treatment provided to keep people well or cure illness.
Grammar: No plural: access to healthcare is limited.
Patterns
- healthcare for someone
Many families struggle to afford healthcare.
The government plans to spend more on healthcare next year.
Rural villages often have poor healthcare.
noununcountablebusiness
The industry or system of hospitals, doctors, insurers and related organizations.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: healthcare worker.
She has worked in healthcare for twenty years.
Healthcare is one of the largest employers in the region.
He left banking for a job in healthcare management.
Common combinations
- universal healthcare
- Many countries offer universal healthcare.
- healthcare worker
- Healthcare workers were applauded during the outbreak.
- access to healthcare
- Access to healthcare varies between regions.
- healthcare costs
- Rising healthcare costs worry many retirees.
- healthcare system
- The healthcare system was overwhelmed by the flu season.
- primary healthcare
- Primary healthcare begins with the local clinic.
Synonyms and how they differ
- medicine
- Medicine can mean the science or the drugs themselves, while healthcare means the whole service of treating people.
- medical care
- Medical care is nearly the same but focuses on treatment, whereas healthcare also includes prevention.
- treatment
- Treatment describes care for a specific condition, while healthcare is the broad system or service.
Word family
Commonly confused: healthcare or health care?
healthcare vs health care
Written as two words it is the same noun; the one-word form is more common in American English, and either is accepted.
Practice
The clinic offers free ___ to families who cannot pay.
Choose one answer.
Healthcare is the uncountable noun for medical services. Healthy is an adjective and does not fit after 'free'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “healthcare”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.