dispensary
Americannoun
plural
dispensaries-
a place where something is dispensed, especially medicines.
-
a charitable or public facility where medicines are furnished and free or inexpensive medical advice is available.
noun
Etymology
Origin of dispensary
1690–1700; < Medieval Latin dispēnsāria storeroom, equivalent to Latin dispēns ( āre ) to dispense + -āria -ary
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.
Convenience stores, gasoline stations and neighborhood retailers are easier to monitor, easier to tax, and vastly cheaper to regulate than fragmented, high-compliance dispensary systems.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
From the outside, it looks like your standard-issue corporate dispensary, largely because of where it is.
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2025
After The Times’ story, Elliot Lewis, owner of the 28-store Catalyst dispensary chain, broadcast his own shelf testing campaign.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2024
She added that her shop was "propping up" the dispensary.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2024
Sometimes she would be sent on an errand to the dispensary and would have to wait for the pharmacist to return.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
