<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!--XBRL Document Created with the Workiva Platform-->
<!--Copyright 2025 Workiva-->
<!--r:66934815-c08d-4bfb-9f83-8abf82dd8761,g:ad3116c1-1ee7-4a06-9494-f46e4125dc44-->
<link:linkbase xmlns:link="http://www.xbrl.org/2003/linkbase" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xbrldt="http://xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.xbrl.org/2003/linkbase http://www.xbrl.org/2003/xbrl-linkbase-2003-12-31.xsd">
  <link:arcroleRef arcroleURI="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/all" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt-2005.xsd#all"/>
  <link:arcroleRef arcroleURI="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/hypercube-dimension" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt-2005.xsd#hypercube-dimension"/>
  <link:arcroleRef arcroleURI="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/dimension-default" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt-2005.xsd#dimension-default"/>
  <link:arcroleRef arcroleURI="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/dimension-domain" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt-2005.xsd#dimension-domain"/>
  <link:arcroleRef arcroleURI="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.xbrl.org/2005/xbrldt-2005.xsd#domain-member"/>
  <link:roleRef roleURI="http://www.danaher.com/role/DocumentAndEntityInformationDocumentAndEntityInformation" xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#DocumentAndEntityInformationDocumentAndEntityInformation"/>
  <link:definitionLink xlink:role="http://www.danaher.com/role/DocumentAndEntityInformationDocumentAndEntityInformation" xlink:type="extended">
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_EntityListingsLineItems"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_EntityListingsTable_099048e6-dc5e-455c-9bc4-abf6c75cf196" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_EntityListingsTable"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/all" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_EntityListingsTable_099048e6-dc5e-455c-9bc4-abf6c75cf196" xlink:type="arc" order="1" xbrldt:closed="true" xbrldt:contextElement="segment"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162" xlink:href="https://xbrl.fasb.org/us-gaap/2024/elts/us-gaap-2024.xsd#us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/hypercube-dimension" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsTable_099048e6-dc5e-455c-9bc4-abf6c75cf196" xlink:to="loc_us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162" xlink:type="arc" order="1"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162_default" xlink:href="https://xbrl.fasb.org/us-gaap/2024/elts/us-gaap-2024.xsd#us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/dimension-default" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162" xlink:to="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162_default" xlink:type="arc" order="1"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:href="https://xbrl.fasb.org/us-gaap/2024/elts/us-gaap-2024.xsd#us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/dimension-domain" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis_744c5a0d-bac6-4a0f-b92f-d0869b2c0162" xlink:to="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:type="arc" order="1"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_us-gaap_CommonStockMember_16bec26d-a4bf-4d0a-a7db-4bb307f1af75" xlink:href="https://xbrl.fasb.org/us-gaap/2024/elts/us-gaap-2024.xsd#us-gaap_CommonStockMember"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_us-gaap_CommonStockMember_16bec26d-a4bf-4d0a-a7db-4bb307f1af75" xlink:type="arc" order="0"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A0.2SeniorNotesDue2026Member_4ade9b09-33e4-4e3d-82e1-6745e4bc960e" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A0.2SeniorNotesDue2026Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A0.2SeniorNotesDue2026Member_4ade9b09-33e4-4e3d-82e1-6745e4bc960e" xlink:type="arc" order="1"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A2.1SeniorNotesDue2026Member_ddea3f29-362d-4c7f-8405-8e7d797cb657" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A2.1SeniorNotesDue2026Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A2.1SeniorNotesDue2026Member_ddea3f29-362d-4c7f-8405-8e7d797cb657" xlink:type="arc" order="2"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A1.2SeniorNotesDue2027Member_f027fa6e-556c-4564-8fba-bd1f0a880364" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A1.2SeniorNotesDue2027Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A1.2SeniorNotesDue2027Member_f027fa6e-556c-4564-8fba-bd1f0a880364" xlink:type="arc" order="3"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A0.45SeniorNotesDue2028Member_025b2456-579b-40b3-b22d-175ebe7c9d25" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A0.45SeniorNotesDue2028Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A0.45SeniorNotesDue2028Member_025b2456-579b-40b3-b22d-175ebe7c9d25" xlink:type="arc" order="4"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A2.5SeniorNotesDue2030Member_a4c0f1b7-09e4-4823-9f74-f309105e4cd3" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A2.5SeniorNotesDue2030Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A2.5SeniorNotesDue2030Member_a4c0f1b7-09e4-4823-9f74-f309105e4cd3" xlink:type="arc" order="5"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A0.75SeniorNotesDue2031Member_617ccd26-af3f-4422-8253-87e2571a3b4d" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A0.75SeniorNotesDue2031Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A0.75SeniorNotesDue2031Member_617ccd26-af3f-4422-8253-87e2571a3b4d" xlink:type="arc" order="6"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A1.35SeniorNotesDue2039Member_4994b0eb-ddd8-47a5-9ef1-ba3d89543e49" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A1.35SeniorNotesDue2039Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A1.35SeniorNotesDue2039Member_4994b0eb-ddd8-47a5-9ef1-ba3d89543e49" xlink:type="arc" order="7"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dhr_A1.8SeniorNotesDue2049Member_26792c2c-4073-4419-881b-beb67f3f7889" xlink:href="dhr-20250113.xsd#dhr_A1.8SeniorNotesDue2049Member"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_us-gaap_ClassOfStockDomain_0d6b32f8-1fca-4d0a-be5c-457f2310c238" xlink:to="loc_dhr_A1.8SeniorNotesDue2049Member_26792c2c-4073-4419-881b-beb67f3f7889" xlink:type="arc" order="8"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_Security12bTitle_9c004ba0-351a-44a3-ba6f-c175db1bb7e0" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_Security12bTitle"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_Security12bTitle_9c004ba0-351a-44a3-ba6f-c175db1bb7e0" xlink:type="arc" order="0"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_TradingSymbol_c7d481be-3df1-4ea5-a811-74265070caab" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_TradingSymbol"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_TradingSymbol_c7d481be-3df1-4ea5-a811-74265070caab" xlink:type="arc" order="1"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_SecurityExchangeName_d0b0690b-608a-4ff1-a2b9-20e43f8623f4" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_SecurityExchangeName"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_SecurityExchangeName_d0b0690b-608a-4ff1-a2b9-20e43f8623f4" xlink:type="arc" order="2"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_AmendmentFlag_47aa5342-b659-4581-ac6c-38d701f2303a" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_AmendmentFlag"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_AmendmentFlag_47aa5342-b659-4581-ac6c-38d701f2303a" xlink:type="arc" order="3"/>
    <link:loc xlink:type="locator" xlink:label="loc_dei_EntityCentralIndexKey_e82f5b92-fbd2-4daf-9767-b11acd69581e" xlink:href="https://xbrl.sec.gov/dei/2024/dei-2024.xsd#dei_EntityCentralIndexKey"/>
    <link:definitionArc xlink:arcrole="http://xbrl.org/int/dim/arcrole/domain-member" xlink:from="loc_dei_EntityListingsLineItems_a4d2e879-7a9a-4e13-9c8e-164356a04969" xlink:to="loc_dei_EntityCentralIndexKey_e82f5b92-fbd2-4daf-9767-b11acd69581e" xlink:type="arc" order="4"/>
  </link:definitionLink>
</link:linkbase>
