Is “Doctor” Capitalized in a Sentence? (Helpful Examples)

Certain words are supposed to be capitalized when used in certain ways, which can be very confusing. Is the word “doctor” supposed to be capitalized in a sentence? In this post, we’ll be answering that question in great detail.

Is “Doctor” Capitalized in a Sentence?

Doctor should be capitalized in a sentence if it is being used as a title or a name, such as “Doctor Smith.” Doctor should not be capitalized in the middle of a sentence if it is being used as a common noun, as in “he is a doctor.”

Basically, that means it depends. As you may know, titles are supposed to be capitalized even in the middle of a sentence, because they count as proper nouns. If you were referring to a professional as “doctor” as though it were their name, you would capitalize it because it’s a proper noun in that case.

Even if you do use their name, such as “Doctor Smith” you would capitalize it in the middle of a sentence, because the title is being treated as part of their identity, and is thus still a proper noun. Of course, this means that “doctor” should not be capitalized if it is being used as a common noun.

It’s the difference between a person’s name and what a person is. For example, there is a man named Kurt. You do not capitalize “man” because that’s just a common noun, denoting what he is. But you do capitalize “Kurt” because that’s a proper noun that identifies him specifically.

If you’re still a little confused, don’t worry: we’ll go into more detail about these intricacies down below.

When to Capitalize “Doctor”

When a title is used as though it is someone’s name, or treated as a part of their name, it is considered a proper noun. There are many examples: when someone is addressed by rank in the military, the word is capitalized. A prince would also have their title capitalized.

So, if you are using the word “doctor” as a substitute for a professional’s actual name, or you are including it as a part of their identity, it needs to be capitalized, no matter where it is in a sentence. Here are some examples of when “doctor” should be capitalized in a sentence:

1. What do you think of the lab results, Doctor?
2. My friend Doctor Milo is a very friendly and approachable physician.
3. I am not a big fan of the character Doctor Who.
4. If you’d like, you can just call me “Doctor” or “Doc.”
5. No one can pronounce his last name, so we just call him “Doctor.”

In these examples, “Doctor” is either being considered as part of a person’s identity and thus part of their name, or as a direct substitute for their name, used to identify them. In both cases, “Doctor” is a proper noun that needs to be capitalized.

When Not to Capitalize “Doctor”

The word “doctor” can be used as a proper name or a part of a name, but it can also be an ordinary common noun. In such cases, the word should not be capitalized and follows normal capitalization rules, meaning it should be lowercase unless it is the first word in a sentence.

The big difference in a proper noun and a common noun is that a proper noun is someone’s (or something’s) identity, whereas a common noun is just a thing. There’s a big difference in referring to someone as “Doctor” and simply stating that someone “is a doctor.”

Here are some example sentences, displaying situations in which it would be inappropriate to capitalize the word “doctor:”

1. Jen wants to become a doctor when she grows up.
2. I was once a doctor, but now I am retired.
3. You don’t look so good, I think you should go see a doctor.
4. A doctor will probably tell me that I should exercise more frequently.
5. Ike is looking to consult a doctor about his rare medical condition.

As you can see in these examples, whenever you are referring to “doctor” as a general profession, it is a common noun. In such cases, it should not be capitalized. It should only be capitalized when used as a name or part of someone’s identity.

Which Is Used the Most?

This graph from Google’s Ngram Viewer shows us that “doctor” as a lowercase word is used much more frequently than “Doctor” as a capitalized proper noun.

Of course, this shouldn’t really be a surprise, seeing as how common nouns come up in text and conversation much more often than proper nouns.

The difference in frequency doesn’t change anything about the right and wrong times to capitalize “doctor,” however. It just means that, most of the time, people are talking about “a doctor” instead of specifically referring to an individual as “Doctor.”

Final Thoughts

Doctor should be capitalized when it is being used as a proper noun, like a title or a part of someone’s name (for example, Doctor Phil). However, it should not be capitalized when being used as a common noun, such as in saying “Phil is a doctor.”