medication
Americannoun
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the use or application of medicine.
-
a medicinal substance; medicament.
noun
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treatment with drugs or remedies
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a drug or remedy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of medication
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin medicātiōn- (stem of medicātiō ). See medicate, -ion
Explanation
If your doctor prescribes something for you to take, it's medication. Medication is another way to say "medicine" or "drug." Your poison ivy rash might be so bad that you need to take medication to stop the itching. People need medication for all sorts of illnesses and disorders throughout their lives, from headache medication to medication for cancer treatment. In the fifteenth century, the word meant "medical treatment of a disease or wound," from the Latin medicationem, "healing or cure," with its root in medicus, which means both "healing" and "physician."
Vocabulary lists containing medication
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Pharmacy Words
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The Boy in the Black Suit
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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.
Medication can also be given through an IV port if medication is unable to be kept down.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
Appeared in the October 7, 2025, print edition as 'Amgen Lowers Price of Cholesterol Medication'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
Medication has kept him steady while running, he said, and songwriting has kept him sane.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2024
Medication abortions typically occur by taking the brand name drug Mifeprex, which contains mifepristone and misoprostol.
From Salon • May 5, 2024
I was only on Prozac for three months before Dr. Howell switched me, but it was pretty much the worst three months in the Search for the Right Medication.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
