drug

[ druhg ]

/ drʌg /

noun

Pharmacology. a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being.

(in federal law)

any substance recognized in the official pharmacopoeia or formulary of the nation.
any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or other animals.
any article, other than food, intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or other animals.
any substance intended for use as a component of such a drug, but not a device or a part of a device.

a habit-forming medicinal or illicit substance, especially a narcotic.

drugs,

chemical substances prepared and sold as pharmaceutical items, either by prescription or over the counter.
personal hygienic items sold in a drugstore, as toothpaste, mouthwash, etc.

Obsolete. any ingredient used in chemistry, pharmacy, dyeing, or the like.

verb (used with object), drugged, drug·ging.

to administer a medicinal drug to.

to stupefy or poison with a drug.

to mix (food or drink) with a drug, especially a stupefying, narcotic, or poisonous drug.

to administer anything nauseous to.

Verb Phrases

drug up, to take a narcotic drug: The addict prowled about for a place to drug up.

Nearby words

drubbing, drucilla, drudge, drudgery, drudgework, drug, drug abuse, drug addict, drug baron, drug enforcement administration, drug eruption

Idioms

drug on the market, a commodity that is overabundant or in excess of demand in the market.Also drug in the market.

Origin of drug

1300–50; Middle English drogges (plural) < Middle French drogue, of obscure origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for drug on the market

drug

/ (drʌɡ) /

noun

any synthetic, semisynthetic, or natural chemical substance used in the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of disease, or for other medical reasonsRelated adjective: pharmaceutical

a chemical substance, esp a narcotic, taken for the pleasant effects it produces

drug on the market a commodity available in excess of the demands of the market

verb drugs, drugging or drugged (tr)

to mix a drug with (food, drink, etc)

to administer a drug to

to stupefy or poison with or as if with a drug

Related forms

Related prefix: pharmaco-

Derived Forms

druggy, adjective

Word Origin for drug

C14: from Old French drogue, probably of Germanic origin

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

Medicine definitions for drug on the market

drug

[ drŭg ]

n.

A substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication.

Such a substance as recognized or defined by the US Food and Drug Administration.

A chemical substance, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, that affects the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and often addiction.

v.

To administer a drug, especially in an overly large quantity, to an individual.

To stupefy or dull with or as if with a drug; to narcotize.

Science definitions for drug on the market

drug

[ drŭg ]

A chemical substance, especially one prescribed by a medical provider, that is used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a condition or disease. Drugs are prescribed for a limited amount of time, as for an acute infection, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders, such as hypertension.

A chemical substance such as a narcotic or a hallucinogen that affects the central nervous system and is used recreationally for perceived desirable effects on personality, perception, or behavior. Many recreational drugs are used illicitly and can be addictive.

Idioms and Phrases with drug on the market

drug on the market

A commodity whose supply greatly exceeds the demand for it. For example, Now that asbestos is considered dangerous, asbestos tile is a drug on the market. The use of the noun drug in the sense of “something overabundant” (as opposed to a medicine or narcotic) dates from the mid-1600s, but the first record of the full expression, put as drug in the market, dates only from the 1830s.