pharmacy
Americannoun
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pharmacies
plural
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Also called pharmaceutics. the art and science of preparing and dispensing drugs and medicines.
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a drugstore.
noun
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Also called: pharmaceutics. the practice or art of preparing and dispensing drugs
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a dispensary
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pharmacy
1645–55; earlier pharmacia < Medieval Latin < Greek pharmakeía druggist's work. See pharmaco-, -y 3
Explanation
A pharmacy is where you go when you need to fill a prescription for medicine. Hospitals have pharmacies, but you can also find retail pharmacies in most cities and towns. The technique of making medicine and dispensing it is also known as pharmacy, and people who practice this kind of science are pharmacists. If your doctor diagnoses an infection, it's your friendly neighborhood pharmacist who measures your antibiotics, packages them for you, and instructs you on how much and how often to take them. The Greek root is pharmakeia, which means "medicines or cure," but also "witchcraft, spells, or potions."
Vocabulary lists containing pharmacy
Unit 4
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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.
See Examples For:
If the FDA agrees with the panel’s recommendation, six of the seven injectable peptides they evaluated will no longer be barred from pharmacy compounding.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
The company has also seen same-day delivery growth in its pharmacy business.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Located on West Ventura Boulevard between Highway 101 and the Camarillo Airport, the 160,000-square-foot warehouse will have a food court, bakery, pharmacy, optical center, hearing aid center and tire service center.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Have you been treated in a pharmacy setting for one of these conditions?
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
He was, after all, a physician, and his building had a pharmacy on the ground floor.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
For a $20 salary, Chatfield brainstormed how to create co-op facilities such as clinics and pharmacies as one-stop spots for farmworkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Meanwhile, Covid-19 vaccines are already available for commercially insured patients at pharmacies including CVS.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
This drove insurers to combine with providers, PBMs and pharmacies, and to steer revenue to these affiliates to dodge this de facto profit cap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
It noted two recent recalls due to contaminants at compounding pharmacies that produce glutathione.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Baba and Rahim Khan built a wildly successful carpet-exporting business, two pharmacies, and a restaurant.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
