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PlainSpell

doctor

doc·tor/ˈdɑktɚ/noun, verb

doctor is spelled D-O-C-T-O-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (doc·tor). It appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, doctor means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of doctor is doctors.

How many letters and syllables are in doctor?

Letters6: D-O-C-T-O-R
Syllables2: doc·tor
In writing79 times per million words; the 1,338th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is doctor?

Doctor appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce doctor?

  • UK /ˈdɒktə(ɹ)/
  • US /ˈdɑktɚ/
  • Australia /ˈdɔktə/

Doctor has 2 syllables, split doc·tor in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-doctor.ogg, En-us-doctor.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-doctor.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of doctor

  • doctors plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • doctoring participle, present
  • doctored participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does doctor mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    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 DO, DPM, MD, DMD, or DDS in the US, or MBBS or BDS in the UK.

    If you still feel unwell tomorrow, see your doctor.

  2. 2

    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. 3

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

  4. 4

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

  5. 5

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

  6. 6

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

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

  7. 7

    A fish, the friar skate.

  8. 8

    obsoleteA witch doctor.

verb

  1. 1

    To act as a medical doctor to.

    Her children doctored her back to health.

  2. 2

    To act as a medical doctor.

  3. 3

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

  4. 4

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

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

  5. 5

    To genetically alter an extant species.

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

  6. 6

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

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

  7. 7

    To adulterate, drug, or poison (drink).

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo take medicine.

noun

as Doctor
  1. 1

    The title of an academic or medical doctor; used before or instead of the doctor's name.

    The students asked to see Doctor Jones.

phrase

as DOCTOR
  1. 1

    A mnemonic to help remember the difference between the Spanish verbs ser and estar (both meaning "to be"); ser is generally used for: Descriptions, Occupations, Characteristics, Times, Origins, and Relationships.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate doctor?

Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of doctor: D., doc., dr.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Doctor in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdocteur, docteure, docteuse, doctoresse (person who has attained a doctorate), falsifier (alter or make obscure, in order to deceive), le docteur (title of a doctor, used before the doctor's name)
GermanDoktor, Doktorin (person who has attained a doctorate), Dr. (title of a doctor, used before the doctor's name), verarzten (act as a medical doctor to), doktorieren (award the title of doctor to)
Portuguesedoutor, doutora, doutorado, doutorada (person who has attained a doctorate), adulterar (alter or make obscure, in order to deceive)
Spanishdoctor, doctora (person who has attained a doctorate), adulterar (alter or make obscure, in order to deceive), doctorar (award the title of doctor to)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does doctor come from?

From Middle English doctor, doctour (“an expert, authority on a subject”), from Anglo-Norman doctour, from Latin doctor (“teacher”), from doceō (“to teach”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after doctor