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Synonyms

pharmacist

American  
[fahr-muh-sist] / ˈfɑr mə sɪst /
Also pharmaceutist

noun

pharmacists plural
  1. a person licensed to prepare and dispense drugs and medicines; druggist; apothecary; pharmaceutical chemist.

    Synonyms:
    chemist

pharmacist British  
/ ˌfɑːməˈsjuːtɪst, ˈfɑːməsɪst /

noun

  1. a person qualified to prepare and dispense drugs

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of pharmacist

First recorded in 1825–35; pharmac(y) + -ist

Explanation

When you're sick and need prescription medication, it's a pharmacist who prepares it for you, answers your questions about it, and sells it to you. You can also ask your pharmacist to recommend the best over-the-counter cough drops. If you decide to be a pharmacist, you'll need to study pharmacy, a field of science that's all about making and dispensing safe medicine that works the way it's supposed to. Pharmacists take a lot of chemistry classes to understand how drugs work, and they also study human anatomy and physiology to learn about the way people's bodies react to medicine. In some places, your pharmacist can also give you vaccinations.

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Vocabulary lists containing pharmacist

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.

Majid, a 35-year-old pharmacist in Tehran, said he was "deeply worried" by the attacks and their knock-on effects on daily life for Iranians already facing economic hardship.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

The secretary and pharmacist and my kid’s baseball coach ask, “How are you feeling?,” silently imploring me to give them a cancer update without making them ask.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

When she thought she had a urinary tract infection, ChatGPT looked at her symptoms and recommended she go to the pharmacist.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

FDA officials said if you have questions or concerns about the recalled product, consult your doctor of pharmacist.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Farmer stops a young man on a motorbike and asks if he’d give one of our party, the pharmacist, a lift to Cange.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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