Meaning & use
medical
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Connected with the treatment of illness and injury, or with the study and practice of medicine.
Grammar: Almost always comes before a noun: medical care, medical school.
Patterns
- medical something
She trained for seven years at a medical school.
The hospital offers free medical advice to new parents.
Please bring your medical records to the first appointment.
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Treated by drugs or ordinary care rather than by surgery.
Grammar: Contrasts with 'surgical': a medical ward is for non-surgical patients.
Patterns
- medical treatment
- medical ward
Doctors tried a medical solution before suggesting an operation.
He was moved to the medical ward after his chest scan.
Medical treatment alone controlled her condition.
nouncountableBritishinformal
A check of someone's health by a doctor, often needed for a job, sport, or insurance.
Grammar: Countable and usually British: have a medical; in American English 'physical' is more usual.
Patterns
- have a medical
- pass a medical
- fail a medical
The footballer passed his medical and signed the contract.
You need a medical before you can join the army.
She had a medical for her life insurance.
Word forms
| plural | medicals |
|---|
Common combinations
- medical attention
- The injured hiker needed immediate medical attention.
- medical history
- Tell the nurse about your medical history.
- medical emergency
- The flight landed early because of a medical emergency.
- medical insurance
- Check that your medical insurance covers travel.
- medical examination
- The job requires a full medical examination.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clinical
- Clinical refers to direct observation and treatment of patients, whereas medical is the wider word for anything connected with medicine.
- health
- Health is the broader and more general word, as in health service, while medical points to doctors and treatment.
- physical
- Physical, as a noun in American English, means the same kind of health check as the British noun medical.
Word family
- medically adverb
- in a way that relates to medicine
- medicine noun
- the science of treating illness, or a drug
- medic noun
- a doctor or medical student, informally
- medicate verb
- to treat with a drug
- medication noun
- a drug used to treat illness
Commonly confused: medical or medicinal?
medical vs medicinal
Medicinal describes things that heal, like a medicinal herb, while medical describes anything related to the practice of medicine.
Practice
Before joining the fire service, Tom had to pass a ______.
Choose one answer.
Here medical is a noun meaning a health check. Medicine and medicinal do not fit, and 'medic' would mean the person, not the examination.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “medical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.