painkiller
Americannoun
noun
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an analgesic drug or agent
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anything that relieves pain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of painkiller
Explanation
A painkiller is a medicine that's used to dull or relieve pain, like the painkiller your dad gives you when you have a bad headache. Painkillers are meant to do exactly what their name says: to kill pain. You can also call this kind of medication an analgesic. These range from aspirin and acetaminophen, which are sold over the counter to treat minor aches and pains, to powerful anesthetics administered by doctors before surgery. If you get your wisdom teeth removed, you'll most likely need a painkiller during and after the procedure.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of the most important advances against it came not from a new drug but a repurposed 19th-century painkiller.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Wall Street has been focusing on the company’s next-generation painkiller Journavax, as well as its IgA nephropathy treatment.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
A UK-wide shortage of the strongest form of the painkiller - the 30/500mg dosage - is ongoing due to the Indian government delaying the authorisation to import ingredients required to make the drug there.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
The idea that a humble painkiller could help prevent cancer is both exciting and provocative.
From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026
I’m suspended, as in airports or dentists’ waiting rooms, expecting yet another interlude that will be textureless and without desire, like a painkiller or the interiors of planes.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
