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 nounIf 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
The athlete sustains an inversion or eversion ankle injury and is evaluated at a local emergency room or urgent care facility.—James S. Keene
2
: 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
Cite this Entry
“Urgent care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urgent%20care. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.
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