someone who practices a learned profession
"The hospital employed several medical practitioners to oversee patient care."
A person who practices a profession or art, especially law or medicine.
"The new practitioner joined the hospital to work as a cardiologist."
In plain English: A practitioner is someone who actually does their job, especially doctors and lawyers.
"The doctor is an experienced practitioner who has worked in the field for twenty years."
Usage: Use practitioner to refer specifically to professionals like doctors and lawyers rather than general workers in any field. It is often confused with the more casual term "practitioner" when describing someone simply engaged in an activity without formal training.
The word practitioner originally appeared with a misspelling that included an unnecessary extra syllable. It entered English by combining the root meaning "one who practices" with a common agentive suffix to describe someone engaged in professional work.