The difference between Doctor and Physician

When used as nouns, doctor means a physician, whereas physician means a practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon.


Doctor is also verb with the meaning: to act as a medical doctor to.

check bellow for the other definitions of Doctor and Physician

  1. Doctor as a noun:

    A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick or injured. The final examination and qualification may award a doctor degree in which case the post-nominal letters are D.O., DPM, M.D., DMD, DDS, DPT, DC, Pharm.D., in the US or MBBS in the UK.

    Examples:

    "If you still feel unwell tomorrow, see your doctor."

  2. Doctor as a noun:

    A person who has attained a doctorate, such as a Ph.D. or Th.D. or one of many other terminal degrees conferred by a college or university.

  3. Doctor as a noun:

    A veterinarian; a medical practitioner who treats non-human animals.

  4. Doctor as a noun:

    a person who has special knowledge or talents to manipulate or arrange transactions.

  5. Doctor as a noun (obsolete):

    A teacher; one skilled in a profession or a branch of knowledge; a learned man.

  6. Doctor as a noun (dated):

    Any mechanical contrivance intended to remedy a difficulty or serve some purpose in an exigency.

    Examples:

    "the doctor of a calico-printing machine, which is a knife to remove superfluous colouring matter"

    "the doctor, or auxiliary engine, also called "donkey engine"

  7. Doctor as a noun:

    A fish, the friar skate.

  1. Doctor as a verb (transitive):

    To act as a medical doctor to.

    Examples:

    "Her children doctored her back to health."

  2. Doctor as a verb (intransitive, humorous):

    To act as a medical doctor.

  3. Doctor as a verb (transitive):

    To make (someone) into an (academic) doctor; to confer a doctorate upon.

  4. Doctor as a verb (transitive):

    To physically alter (medically or surgically) a living being in order to change growth or behavior.

    Examples:

    "They doctored their apple trees by vigorous pruning, and now the dwarfed trees are easier to pick."

    "We may legally doctor a pet to reduce its libido."

  5. Doctor as a verb (transitive):

    To genetically alter an extant species.

    Examples:

    "Mendel's discoveries showed how the evolution of a species may be doctored."

  6. Doctor as a verb (transitive):

    To alter or make obscure, as with the intention to deceive, especially a document.

    Examples:

    "To doctor the signature of an [[instrument]] with intent to defraud is an example of [[forgery]]."

  7. Doctor as a verb (intransitive, obsolete):

    To take medicine.

  1. Physician as a noun:

    A practitioner of physic, i.e. a specialist in internal medicine, especially as opposed to a surgeon; a practitioner who treats with medication rather than with surgery.

  2. Physician as a noun:

    A medical doctor trained in human medicine.