diuretic
Americanadjective
noun
-
diuretics
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of diuretic
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English d(i)uretik, from Late Latin diūrēticus, from Greek diourētikós, from di- di- 3 + ourē- (verb stem of oureîn “to urinate”; cf. uro- 1 ( def. )) + -tikos -tic
Explanation
A diuretic is anything — food, drink, or medicine — that increases the flow of urine. In other words, it makes you pee. Usually, going "number one" is no big deal, but sometimes people have trouble going. That's where diuretics come in: they make you urinate more. A common reason to take diuretics would be a problem with your kidneys. Taking a diuretic can be very important in getting excess water and also toxins out of your body. Coffee and alcohol aren't usually recommended by doctors, but they're also diuretics since they tend to make you urinate.
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:
“There’s this myth that coffee is a diuretic and is going to dehydrate you, it’s not true,” says Juli MacKenna, manager of clinical nutrition at Tufts Medicine MelroseWakefield Hospital.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The document, she says, noted the time the women arrived for their interviews, when the diuretic was administered, how long it took before they urinated, and what underwear they were wearing.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
In that case, Judge Keith Ellison defined “heat-sensitive” broadly, covering people taking antipsychotic, anticholinergic, or diuretic drugs, along with anyone diagnosed with psychiatric conditions, obesity, diabetes, or hypertension, among other things.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
Though caffeine is a diuretic, consuming up to 400 mg of it daily can actually help with hydration, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ King.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2024
Aureliano Segundo submitted secretly to the burning baths of permanganate and to diuretic waters, and both were cured separately after three months of secret suffering.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Police believed Nègre had used diuretics, which are used to manage a number of medical conditions, including high blood pressure, and cause the body to produce excess urine.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Medications used to treat heart failure include diuretics, which reduce tissue swelling and can be administered orally or intravenously.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024
Prescription medicines like diuretics can cause dehydration, especially during warm weather in an area as arid as central Arizona.
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024
She points out that certain medications—including some psychiatrics, diuretics, stimulants and antihistamines—can reduce the body’s ability to manage heat.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 21, 2023
Another class, such as the saline diuretics, are effectual by virtue of their osmotic action.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various
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.
