beta blocker

or beta-blocker

Save This Word!

noun Pharmacology.

any of various substances that interfere with the action of the beta receptors: used primarily to reduce the heart rate or force in the prevention, management, or treatment of angina, hypertension, or arrythmias.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Compare alpha blocker.

Origin of beta blocker

First recorded in 1975–80

OTHER WORDS FROM beta blocker

beta-blocking, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use beta blocker in a sentence

Whether or not beta-version wearables are your thing, some technology is just impossible to ignore (or destroy).
Why Every Home Needs a Drone This Holiday|Charlie Gilbert|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Trotter graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and became the first black man named to Phi Beta Kappa.
The Fight to Ban ‘Birth of a Nation’|Jack Schwartz|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For starters, the Ello beta launched without any privacy controls or blocking options.
Ello, Is It You We’re Looking For?|Samantha Allen|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beta amyloid, which OL-1 is meant to lower, was first implicated in the disease at its identification by Alois Alzheimer in 1906.
Trial Drug Reverses Alzheimer’s Disease in Mice|Elizabeth Lopatto|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Dominating the research field is a protein called beta amyloid, identified by Alois Alzheimer in 1906.
Twenty Years of Alzheimer’s Research May Have Focused on the Wrong Protein|Elizabeth Lopatto|April 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Acetone is derived from decomposition of diacetic acid, and this in turn from beta-oxybutyric acid by oxidation.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Beta is not formed from alpha; one is first, the other is second, and no one knows why.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
We want to work out a substitute for Beta that will keep the flavor of the drink without the psycho-physiological effects.
Hunter Patrol|Henry Beam Piper and John J. McGuire
Of course, it's very luxurious at Beta Phi House, but her little room here isn't to be scorned.
Molly Brown's Sophomore Days|Nell Speed
Radioactive atoms almost always decay by emitting negatively charged beta particles usually accompanied by gamma rays.
The Atomic Fingerprint|Bernard Keisch

British Dictionary definitions for beta blocker

beta-blocker

noun

any of a class of drugs, such as propranolol, that inhibit the activity of the nerves that are stimulated by adrenaline; they therefore decrease the contraction and speed of the heart: used in the treatment of high blood pressure and angina pectoris

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for beta blocker

beta-blocker

A drug that opposes the excitatory effects of norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerve endings at beta-adrenergic receptors and is used for the treatment of angina, hypertension, arrhythmia, and migraine.beta-adrenergic blocking agent

Scientific definitions for beta blocker

beta-blocker

[ bā′tə-blŏk′ər ]

A drug that blocks the excitatory effects of epinephrine on the cardiovascular system by binding to cell-surface receptors (called beta-receptors). Beta-blockers are used to treat high blood pressure, angina, and certain abnormal heart rhythms.