Meaning & use
pediatrician
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A doctor who treats babies, children, and teenagers and deals with their illnesses and development.
Grammar: Countable: a pediatrician, two pediatricians.
Patterns
- see a pediatrician
- consult a pediatrician
- a pediatrician specializes in something
When the baby had a high fever, we took her to a pediatrician.
The pediatrician said the child was growing normally and just needed rest.
She trained as a pediatrician and now works in a large children's hospital.
Word forms
| plural | pediatricians |
|---|
Common combinations
- see a pediatrician
- If your child's cough doesn't improve, you should see a pediatrician.
- consult a pediatrician
- The school nurse advised the parents to consult a pediatrician about the rash.
- a pediatrician specializes in
- A pediatrician specializes in the health of children from birth to adolescence.
- recommend a pediatrician
- Our family doctor recommended a pediatrician who speaks both English and Spanish.
Synonyms and how they differ
- children's doctor
- A plain English phrase that means the same but is less formal and not used as a job title.
- pediatrist
- A rare term for a foot doctor, not a children's doctor; do not confuse.
Word family
- pediatrics noun
- The medical specialty that deals with children.
- pediatric adjective
- Relating to the medical care of children.
Commonly confused: pediatrician or pediatric? pediatrician or podiatrist?
pediatrician vs pediatric
Pediatric is an adjective, while pediatrician is a noun for the doctor. You say 'a pediatrician' but 'pediatric care'.
pediatrician vs podiatrist
A podiatrist treats feet, not children. The words sound a bit similar but are completely different professions.
Practice
When my son was ill, I called the _____ for advice.
Choose one answer.
The noun pediatrician is the doctor you call. 'Pediatric' is an adjective, 'pediatrics' is the field, and 'pedantic' means overly concerned with details.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pediatrician”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.