pharmacist
Americannoun
noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing pharmacist
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ist
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Pharmacy Words
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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.
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
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
The doctor urged anyone feeling at risk to speak to their pharmacist.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
“They had to come up with this decision over just a few days,” said Shirkhanzadeh, the pharmacist who assisted them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
Unnerving computer printouts from the pharmacist began arriving: “Maximum benefit reached.”
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
