sawbones

noun

ˈsȯ-ˌbōnz How to pronounce sawbones (audio)
Definition of sawbonesnext
slang
as in doctor
a person specially trained in healing human medical disorders a real old-timer who remembers when you could expect a sawbones to make a house call

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sawbones
  1. doctor
  2. physician
Noun
  • Hughes says that miscarriage concerns are common for pregnant women and that doctors are constantly discussing risks and benefits with their patients.
    — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Wray said doctors told the family that only about 20% of her son's brain is functioning.
    — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of doctor
Noun
  • As a physician who sees patients who take GLP-1s on a regular basis, doctor-patient conversations around these drugs have shifted substantially.
    — Jesse M. Pines, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The cast is led by Tolman, with Grier playing the grumpy emergency physician Ron.
    — Selome Hailu, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of physician
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.

Browse Nearby Words

saw after
sawbones
sawbuck
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Sawbones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sawbones. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All