nurse practitioner

noun

Synonyms of nurse practitionernext
: a registered nurse who is qualified through advanced training to assume some of the duties and responsibilities formerly assumed only by a physician
—abbreviation NP

Examples of nurse practitioner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, jurors heard from the psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Lindsay Clancy in the weeks before Clancy strangled her children to death. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 Two psychiatric nurse practitioners at the South Shore Perinatal Behavioral Health clinic – Julie Paul and Rebecca Jollotta – also prescribed medication to Clancy. — Melina Khan, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with South Shore Hospital’s perinatal behavioral health program, created a plan to treat Clancy’s anxiety, depression and insomnia in late November into early December 2022. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 Lindsay Clancy's murder trial in Massachusetts resumed Tuesday with testimony from Rebecca Jollotta, a second psychiatric nurse practitioner who treated Clancy in 2022. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nurse practitioner

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nurse practitioner was in 1967

Rhymes for nurse practitioner

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Browse Nearby Words

nurse-midwife
nurse practitioner
nurser
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Cite this Entry

“Nurse practitioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nurse%20practitioner. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Medical Definition

nurse practitioner

noun
: a registered nurse who through advanced training is qualified to assume some of the duties and responsibilities formerly assumed only by a physician
—abbreviation NP

called also nurse clinician

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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