veterinarian

IPA/ˌvetərɪˈneəriən/
KK[vˌɛtɚənˈɛriən]IPA/ˌvetərɪˈneriən/

veterinarian — noun

  • veterinariansingular
  • veterinariansplural

1. a doctor for animals who examines them and treats illness or injury

1.nounC1
Definition

a doctor for animals who examines them and treats illness or injury

Example

After the puppy stopped eating, Anjali took it to the veterinarian.

pattern: take + animal + to the veterinarian

The veterinarian cleaned the cut on Rafael's horse's leg before wrapping it.

task: treat an injured animal

Common collocations
  • licensed veterinarian
  • local veterinarian
  • farm veterinarian
  • zoo veterinarian
  • take a pet to the veterinarian
  • call a veterinarian
Synonyms
  • vet

    shorter and much more common in everyday conversation

  • veterinary surgeon

    formal title, especially in British English and professional settings

  • animal doctor

    plain explanatory phrase rather than the standard professional term

Grammar Patterns

take + animal + to the veterinarian

call a veterinarian

see a veterinarian

Usage Note

Used in formal writing, clinics, and official documents. In everyday speech, people more often say vet, especially when talking about taking a pet for treatment.

Common Mistakes

Our cat needs a doctor.
Our cat needs a veterinarian.
for animal medical care, English uses 'veterinarian' or the more common 'vet', not 'doctor'.
She is veterinarian at our horse farm.
She is a veterinarian at our horse farm.
this is a countable noun, so singular forms need an article.
The veterinarian checked my sore throat.
The doctor checked my sore throat.
a veterinarian treats animals, not human patients.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Veterinarian is the full, formal word for a medical professional who treats animals. In daily conversation, most people say vet, especially when they talk about pets: you take your dog to the vet, not usually to the veterinarian. Veterinary surgeon is a more official title and is especially common in British English, clinic signage, and legal or licensing contexts. Doctor and physician are different because they normally refer to medical care for people, not animals. So if your cat has a fever, you call a vet or veterinarian; if your child has a fever, you call a doctor. The choice mainly depends on whether you want an everyday tone or a formal professional label.

vet ↗veterinary surgeon ↗doctor ↗physician ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • take a pet to the veterinarian
  • call the veterinarian
  • licensed veterinarian
  • large-animal veterinarian

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Veterinarian was formed in English from veterinary, which comes from Latin veterinarius, a word connected with the care of working animals and livestock. English then added a person-ending to name the professional who does this work, giving the modern meaning of someone trained to treat animals medically.