medicine

American  

[med-uh-sin, med-suhn] / ˈmɛd ə sɪn, ˈmɛd sən /

noun

medicines plural

1. any substance or substances used in treating disease or illness; medicament; remedy.

   Synonyms:

   physic, pharmaceutical, drug, medication

2. the art or science of restoring or preserving health or due physical condition, as by means of drugs, surgical operations or appliances, or manipulations: often divided into medicine proper, surgery, and obstetrics.

3. the art or science of treating disease with drugs or curative substances, as distinguished from surgery and obstetrics.

4. the medical profession.

5. (among North American Indians) any object or practice regarded as having magical powers.

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verb (used with object)

medicined, medicining

1. to administer medicine to.

idioms

1. give someone a dose / taste of his / her own medicine, to repay or punish a person for an injury by use of the offender's own methods.

2. take one's medicine, to undergo or accept punishment, especially deserved punishment.

   He took his medicine like a man.

medicine British  

/ ˈmɛdsɪn, ˈmɛdɪsɪn /

noun

1. any drug or remedy for use in treating, preventing, or alleviating the symptoms of disease

2. the science of preventing, diagnosing, alleviating, or curing disease

3. any nonsurgical branch of medical science

4. the practice or profession of medicine

   he's in medicine

5. something regarded by primitive people as having magical or remedial properties

6. to accept a deserved punishment

7. an unpleasant experience in retaliation for and by similar methods to an unkind or aggressive act

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medicine Scientific  

/ mĕd′ĭ-sĭn /

1. The scientific study or practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases or disorders of the body or mind of a person or animal.

2. An agent, such as a drug, used to treat disease or injury.

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medicine More Idioms  

1. see dose of one's own medicine; take one's medicine.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• supermedicine
  noun
• antimedicine
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• medicines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of medicine

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English medicin, from Latin medicīna (ars) “healing (art),” feminine of medicīnus “pertaining to a physician,” from medic(us) “physician” ( cf. medical) + -īnus -ine ¹

Explanation

Medicine is the field (and body of knowledge) that teaches doctors how to help people. Doctors also give medicine to patients. Cough syrup, antibiotics, and pills are all forms of medicine. When someone gives you medicine, they are medicating you. People who study medicine become doctors and nurses. Without the field of medicine — which expands all the time — there would be so much more sickness and death. Medicine is devoted to finding out everything about health, illness, and the human body.

Example Sentences

In industrialized countries, however, they have become far less common because of improved hygiene and modern medicine.

From Science Daily • Jul. 10, 2026

Prof Christoph Lees, head of fetal medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and professor of obstetrics at Imperial College London, said the research was "very promising".

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026

Keeping diabetics out of emergency rooms is cost-effective medicine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

Many anecdotes are from people who tried more conventional medicine for digestive issues and, from a place of desperation, decided to look elsewhere for solutions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026

Over the course of her subsequent visits, she secretly smuggled food, medicine, money, and letters into the camp—not just for her brother, but for other prisoners too —under threat of death.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• antibiotic
• cure
• drug
• medication
• pharmaceutical
• pill
• prescription
• remedy