painkiller
Americannoun
-
painkillers
plural
noun
-
an analgesic drug or agent
-
anything that relieves pain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Scientific research has not identified causality between taking the painkiller and the development of those conditions in children.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Last year, Lilly acquired SiteOne Therapeutics for $1 billion, in turn assuming the rights to its experimental non-opioid painkiller, STC-004.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
If, say, you’ve had a stomach ulcer, the bot would recommend a painkiller that’s easy on the gut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
However it stops short of the NHS Lanarkshire guidance that people currently taking the painkiller should begin cutting back.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
"A monochrome Jackson Pollock," Jane says, and then tells Tiny, "We gotta bolt. This band is like a root canal sans painkiller."
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
Mr. Vlasenko’s companions kept him alive for months with drone deliveries of medicine, including antibiotics, painkillers and topical antiseptic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Low vitamin D levels may make recovery from breast cancer surgery more painful and increase the need for opioid painkillers, according to research published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
She can wait hours to be seen in A&E, only to be sent home in tears with more strong painkillers.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
In Pasadena, volunteers at the restaurant Chamo Venezuelan Cuisine collected supplies, issuing a special plea for bandages, gauze, painkillers and other over-the-counter medicines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
My eyes skim other shelves—they only have plague suppressants and various painkillers.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
