WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
doc•tor /ˈdɑktɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a person licensed to practice medicine.
- Educationa person who has been awarded a doctor's degree, the highest degree that can be offered by a university.
v.
- to give medical treatment (to);
act as a physician (to): [~ + object]She doctored him back to health.[no object]He'd been doctoring since before we were born. - to change falsely;
tamper with;
falsify:[~ + object]to doctor the birthdate on a passport. - to change or tamper with the ingredients of (a food or drink):[~ + object]to doctor his drink with sedatives.
doc•tor
(dok′tər),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
v.i.
doc′tor•al, doc•to•ri•al
(dok tôr′ē əl, -tōr′-),USA pronunciation adj.
doc′tor•al•ly, doc•to′ri•al•ly, adv.
doc′tor•less, adj.
doc′tor•ship′, n.
- a person licensed to practice medicine, as a physician, surgeon, dentist, or veterinarian.
- Educationa person who has been awarded a doctor's degree:He is a Doctor of Philosophy.
- ReligionSee Doctor of the Church.
- Slang Terms[Older Slang.]a cook, as at a camp or on a ship.
- Mechanical Engineering[Mach.]any of various minor mechanical devices, esp. one designed to remedy an undesirable characteristic of an automatic process.
- [Angling.]any of several artificial flies, esp. the silver doctor.
- an eminent scholar and teacher.
v.t.
- to give medical treatment to; act as a physician to:He feels he can doctor himself for just a common cold.
- to treat (an ailment);
apply remedies to:He doctored his cold at home. - to restore to original or working condition;
repair;
mend:She was able to doctor the chipped vase with a little plastic cement. - to tamper with;
falsify:He doctored the birthdate on his passport. - to add a foreign substance to;
adulterate:Someone had doctored the drink. - to revise, alter, or adapt (a photograph, manuscript, etc.) in order to serve a specific purpose or to improve the material:to doctor a play.
- Educationto award a doctorate to:He did his undergraduate work in the U.S. and was doctored at Oxford.
v.i.
- to practice medicine.
- Slang Terms[Older Use.]to take medicine;
receive medical treatment. - Metallurgy(of an article being electroplated) to receive plating unevenly.
- Latin, equivalent. to doc(ēre) to teach + -tor -tor
- Anglo-French)
- Middle English docto(u)r (1275–1325
doc′tor•less, adj.
doc′tor•ship′, n.
'doctoral' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):