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:
Neko doesn’t prescribe medications, and it refers serious findings to a network of health systems and physician practices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Doctors often prescribe blood thinners to these patients to reduce the chance of blood clots and stroke.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Doctors in England are now able to prescribe it, with Wales expected to follow shortly but the guidance doesn't automatically apply to Northern Ireland.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 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
You needed to be a psychiatrist to prescribe Prozac.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
Editors and readers will still need what Mr. Taranto prescribes: human judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"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
To bring them into balance, Dr. Harlow prescribes two powerful drugs—an "emetic" to make Phineas throw up and a "purgative," a powerful laxative, to evacuate his bowels.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The series is the couple’s prescribed antidote to the social media doomscrolling they call “internet indigestion.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Whether someone is prescribed a GLP-1 or is microdosing at their own discretion, there is little support to ensure that other aspects of health get measured.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
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
Of those, 132,551 had been prescribed GLP-1 drugs, while 201,136 had been prescribed sulfonylureas, another class of diabetes medications.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
It had something to do with his blood chemistry, Danny said, and the doctor had prescribed three different pills for him to take.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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
And while promising, some doctors are still cautious about off-label prescribing.
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
Automated clinical decision support systems could be designed to recognize a possible prescribing cascade as it develops.
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.
