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 nounJulie CreswellIf 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
Rick NathansonThe athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.—James S. Keene
James S. Keene2
: 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
Marilyn ChaseExamples of urgent care in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The amendment that Pol was able to include created an exemption to allow for an urgent care facility to operate in a community with less than 20,000 residents, qualifying Chesterton.
—Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
The full list of hospitals that will be cut from the network in those plans also includes 15 behavioral health facilities, 28 imaging and diagnostic centers, 15 surgery centers, two physician groups and one urgent care center in the Metroplex.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2025
The region’s health systems have been expanding aggressively, building out new units in existing hospitals and adding dozens of outpatient clinics and urgent care locations.
—Annika Merrilees, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
Novant’s urgent care facility at the center is set to launch during the first phase of the facility’s opening.
—Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for urgent care
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Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
The full list of hospitals that will be cut from the network in those plans also includes 15 behavioral health facilities, 28 imaging and diagnostic centers, 15 surgery centers, two physician groups and one urgent care center in the Metroplex.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2025
The region’s health systems have been expanding aggressively, building out new units in existing hospitals and adding dozens of outpatient clinics and urgent care locations.
—Annika Merrilees, Sacramento Bee, 20 Mar. 2025
Novant’s urgent care facility at the center is set to launch during the first phase of the facility’s opening.
—Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for urgent care
Cite this Entry
“Urgent care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urgent%20care. Accessed 31 May. 2025.
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