Veterinary

//ˈvɛtɪnɹi// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A veterinary surgeon; a veterinarian.

    "Mr. Ward may rightly be considered the wizard of the north, for he was the pioneer of "practical pussyology" apart from the regular qualified veterinary who may look with a kind and pitying eye on cats' ailments and infirmities […]"

  2. 2
    a doctor who practices veterinary medicine wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to the medical or surgical treatment of non-human animals, especially domestic and farm animals.

    "Max used all his veterinary knowledge to save the goose stuck in the fence."

Adjective
  1. 1
    of or relating to veterinarians or veterinary medicine wordnet

Example

More examples

"The next morning the veterinary—that is, the animal doctor—declared that he would be lame for the rest of his life."

Etymology

From Latin veterīnārius, from veterīnus and veterīnae (“cattle;"beasts of burden/of draught"”); compare with veterinarian.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.