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From the Merriam-Webster dictionary

I saw her at the doctor's last week.

How long will you be at the doctor?

Considering the fact that both of them come from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it seems sure that both "the doctor" and "the doctor's" are grammatically correct.

However, the Cambridge Dictionary just lists the former. Does that means the latter is not as popular nowadays?

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With the name of an occupation, the possessive indicates 'that person's place of work' - it implies the doctor's surgery (office in American English).

Don't forget that Cambridge is a British dictionary and Merriam-Webster is American. Presumably at the doctor is also idiomatic in American English

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  • Thank you. Presumably, "is at the doctor's" means someone is seeing a doctor, right?
    – RobertH
    Jun 25, 2020 at 9:36
  • Usually, yes. ('I saw her at the doctor's' could possibly refer to someone who had accompanied the patient there.)
    – Kate Bunting
    Jun 25, 2020 at 12:29

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