medicine

American  

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

noun

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

• antimedicine
  adjective
• supermedicine
  noun

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

“They reflect a trend of eating in a nourishing way,” said Marie Bragg, associate professor of population health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

“We are prepared for situations exactly like this,” said Michael Ash, the CEO of Nebraska Medicine, in a statement about the hantavirus outbreak.

From Slate • May 14, 2026

From November 2018 through February 2019, the Andes virus infected 34 people there, killing 11, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have successfully reversed aging in blood-forming stem cells in mice by repairing defects in structures known as lysosomes.

From Science Daily • May 12, 2026

He scored well on his medical school entrance exams and, after another year at Brown, he will head to the St. Louis University School of Medicine.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

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