What does physiotherapist mean?
Word: Physiotherapist
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Physiotherapist means a person trained to treat injuries, pain and stiff joints with exercises, massage and heat rather than with medicine.
How do you spell physiotherapist?
Syllables: phys - i - o - ther - a - pist
Tricky part: It opens with ph and then y, as physics does: the f sound is spelt ph and the short i sound is spelt y.
Watch out for: fysiotherapist, phisiotherapist
Memory tip: Look for the two h's, each riding behind a partner: p-h at the start and t-h in the middle.
Physiotherapist in a sentence
Example 1: After my wrist healed, the physiotherapist gave me exercises with a soft rubber ball.
Example 2: The cricket team travels with its own physiotherapist.
Example 3: Grandma sees a physiotherapist twice a week to help her stiff knees.
Fun Fact
In everyday British English the word is often shortened to physio, so you might hear someone say they have physio on Tuesday.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) radiologist
b) physiotherapest
c) dietitian
d) paramedic
Show answer
b) physiotherapest. Job words such as dentist and artist end in ist, not est.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
pesrtpaohstiiyh
a) physicist
b) physiotherapy
c) psychotherapist
d) physiotherapist
Show answer
d) physiotherapist. The jumble has two i's and no c, which rules out the closest look-alike.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
physiotherrapist
a) r
b) s
c) h
d) p
Show answer
a) r. No letter in this long word is written twice in a row, so drop one r.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
physi_th_rapist
a) o, a
b) e, e
c) a, e
d) o, e
Show answer
d) o, e. The first part ends in o, and the next part begins the, as in theory.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which patient needs a physiotherapist?
a) a runner recovering from a torn muscle
b) a girl with a bad sore throat
c) a man who needs reading glasses
d) a child with a painful toothache
Show answer
a) a runner recovering from a torn muscle
2. What would you expect to see in a physiotherapist's clinic?
a) an eye-test chart on the wall
b) a padded couch and hand weights
c) a dentist's drilling chair
d) a booth for hearing tests
Show answer
b) a padded couch and hand weights
