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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.

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

"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 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.

medicine More Idioms  

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

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” ( medical ) + -īnus -ine 1

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.

They also received specialised courses in battlefield medicine, complex recovery operations and weapons.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Khera, who was not involved in the research, is a professor of medicine, clinical chief of cardiology, and director of preventive cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

She followed her father’s dictums on health: Modern medicine was nearly useless, and the “good body” would heal itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The standout in its portfolio is Leqembi, an Alzheimer’s drug co-developed with Eisai, which has shaped into Biogen’s newest blockbuster medicine.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Abdul Cader, the medicine man, was sitting at a bench outside, pounding amaranth leaves.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

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.