doctor

 
Pronunciation: /ˈdɒktə/

noun

  • 1a person who is qualified to treat people who are ill: [as title]: Doctor Thornhill
  • North American a qualified dentist or veterinary surgeon.
  • [with modifier] informal a person employed to make improvements or give advice: the script doctor rewrote the original
  • 2 (Doctor) a person who holds the highest university degree: he was made a Doctor of Divinity
  • short for Doctor of the Church
  • archaic a teacher or learned person: the wisest doctor is gravelled by the inquisitiveness of a child
  • 3 Angling an artificial fishing fly.

verb

[with object]
  • 1change the content or appearance of (a document or picture) in order to deceive; falsify: the reports could have been doctored
  • alter the content of (food or drink) by adding strong or harmful ingredients: he denied doctoring Stephen’s drinks
  • Cricket & Baseball tamper with (a ball) so as to affect its flight when bowled or pitched: fast bowlers were doctoring the ball
  • 2 (usually as noun doctoring) informal treat (someone) medically: he contemplated giving up doctoring
  • remove the sexual organs of (an animal) so that it cannot reproduce: the dog was doctored
  • repair (a machine): ex-fleet cars which have been doctored

Phrases

be (just) what the doctor ordered

informal be very beneficial or desirable under the circumstances: a 2-0 victory is just what the doctor ordered

go for the doctor

Australian/NZ informal make an all-out effort: he will go for the doctor in Parliament next week

Derivatives

doctorly

adjective

Origin:

Middle English (in the senses 'learned person' and 'Doctor of the Church'): via Old French from Latin doctor 'teacher' (from docere 'teach')