prescribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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prescribes,
present (3rd person singular)
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prescribed,
past participle, past
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prescribing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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prescribes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prescribed,
past participle, past
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prescribing
present participle
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Medicine/Medical. to designate remedies, treatment, etc., to be used.
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Law. to claim a right or title by virtue of long use and enjoyment; make a prescriptive claim. (usually followed by for orto ).
verb
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to lay down as a rule or directive
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law to claim or acquire (a right, title, etc) by prescription
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law to make or become invalid or unenforceable by lapse of time
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med to recommend or order the use of (a drug or other remedy)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonprescribernoun
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prescribernoun
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misprescribeverb
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overprescribeverb
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represcribeverb (used with object)
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prescribableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prescribesimple
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prescribessimple
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have prescribedperfect
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has prescribedperfect
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am prescribingprogressive
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are prescribingprogressive
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is prescribingprogressive
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have been prescribingperfect progressive
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has been prescribingperfect progressive
Past
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prescribedsimple
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had prescribedperfect
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was prescribingprogressive
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were prescribingprogressive
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had been prescribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prescribe
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English from Latin praescrībere “to direct in writing,” literally, “to write before or above,” equivalent to prae- pre- + scrībere “to write”; see scribe 1, prescription
Explanation
To prescribe is make orders or give directions for something to be done. These days, the word is mainly used by doctors who prescribe medications to take. Doctors do a lot of prescribing: they prescribe drugs, rest, exercise, and getting rid of bad habits like smoking. When a doctor prescribes something, he or she is saying, "You need to do this. You should do it." That's the most common use of prescribe, but it pops up anywhere someone is advising or ordering someone to do something. All laws and rules prescribe things — they tell you what to do.
Vocabulary lists containing prescribe
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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"Preamble" and "Bill of Rights," Vocabulary from the U.S. Constitution
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Doctors often prescribe blood thinners to these patients to reduce the chance of blood clots and stroke.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Morgentaler describes getting calls “all the time”—for instance, from men completely unable to find a physician to prescribe testosterone therapy.
From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026
Tomlinson said some doctors would be reluctant to prescribe "off licence" medications or relied on colleagues who specialised in women's health to deal with testosterone requests.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Federal funds are conditioned on preschool providers following 133 pages of rules, which prescribe everything from how often children brush their teeth to classroom disciplinary procedures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
“No. It was very curious. He complained that he felt as if there were long pieces of straw stuck in his throat. When I told the doctor he was able to prescribe the proper medication.”
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"I want every person who prescribes the drug to warn women of the possible side effects," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When he gets sedentary patients, Alter prescribes exercise like a drug.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
At Carafem, a reproductive healthcare company that prescribes abortion medication via telehealth in 19 states and D.C., providers have offered the option of misoprostol-only abortions since 2020.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
Textbook monetary policy prescribes looking through sudden supply shocks such as higher oil prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
“I watch the sardines,” murmurs Madame, “and the termites, and the crows . . .” Etienne summons a doctor who prescribes rest, aspirin, and aromatic violet comfits.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Our investigation found all five patients had been prescribed medications, all were on antibiotics and two of the women were on powerful painkillers.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
"Our findings suggest that, if future experiments prove successful, some men, and possibly women too, could be screened and benchmarked for their risk of hair loss before being prescribed GLP-1 medications," said Dr. Petukhova.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Men prescribed tadalafil were also 33% more likely to begin glaucoma treatment.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
A clinician diagnosed panic attacks and prescribed her Zoloft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
He detected no respiratory infection but prescribed shots of liver and placenta extract, a novel therapy for weakened immune systems.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Government can use its purchasing and research policies to reward strong security and safety practices without prescribing how a rapidly changing technology must develop.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
While there is a decent amount of data showing that Crohn’s patients can tolerate GLP-1s, Cohen says he’s not yet prescribing them off-label for patients who don’t meet the criteria.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
"I guess it's safe to say that the line between war and peace has been blurred, and that's the new reality that we live with in Europe right now," he said, prescribing his Nordic remedy.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
More directly involving pharmacists in prescribing decisions alongside physicians could help uncover medication patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
The ringleaders of this school are Descriptivists: they describe how language actually is used rather than prescribing how it ought to be used.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
