beta blocker

or beta-blocker

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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.

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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. 2023

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

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.