ointment
Americannoun
noun
-
a fatty or oily medicated formulation applied to the skin to heal or protect
-
a similar substance used as a cosmetic
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ointment
1250–1300; obsolete oint (aphetic variant of anoint ) + -ment; replacing Middle English oignement < Old French < Vulgar Latin *unguimentum for Latin unguentum; see unguent
Explanation
Ointment is an oily kind of cream that you use to soothe or heal your skin. You might want to apply a bit of ointment to that festering flesh wound on your forehead. Just saying. Ointment is viscous — in other words, it's somewhere between a solid and a liquid, with a slippery, oily texture. Some medications come in ointment form, while other ointments might be lip balm, a moisturizer for dry skin, or even a cosmetic. The Old French oignement came from the Latin unguentum, from the stem unguere, "to anoint or salve."
Vocabulary lists containing ointment
"Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol
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Pharmacy Words
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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:
The vitamin K shot is one of the three main interventions, along with the hepatitis B vaccine and an antibiotic ointment in the eyes, that newborns typically receive before leaving the hospital.
From Salon ● May 7, 2026
The only fly in the ointment might be what executives say about the rest of this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
In three cases, the MicroShunt was exposed outside the conjunctiva and patients were treated with a petrolatum-based eye ointment.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2026
The source of all the trouble was a medication called betamethasone, which Baffert has steadfastly argued was administered in an ointment for a rash on Medina Spirit’s hindquarters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2025
District 13 confiscated my tube of skin ointment for use in the hospital, and my bow and arrows because only guards have clearance to carry weapons.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Little wonder, then, that many patients preferred the services of women healers, or would take a risk on “quacks”—traveling salesmen selling ointments from town to town—rather than risk a visit to a hospital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
"It's the season for skin infections and we don't have creams or ointments for bacterial infections, no medicines to treat scabies and head lice."
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2025
“Creams and ointments are always better than lotions, things out of jars are always better than things out of a pump bottle,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025
The most dangerous skin diseases are those that affect children, as they erode the skin and require ointments and antibiotics to control them.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2024
“The nuns were kind to me, with their ointments and bandages and sympathy. They offered me their busy, useful detachment. They offered me peace, Djo.”
From "Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti" by Frances Temple
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.
