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:
The pharmacy and retailer is a stalwart of Britain's high streets, where it has served generations of customers for decades.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
He runs a pharmacy with his wife, Michelle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The pharmacy chain has roughly 8,000 stores across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, according to its website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Cigna Group investors will be looking for more detail on the growth of its specialty pharmacy business under new CEO Brian Evanko.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
The morning after her visit, we stopped at the pharmacy on the way back from daily mass.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Workshops were held, resources distributed and support offered through GPs, pharmacies, libraries and community hubs.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Compounding pharmacies are pharmacies, you can’t get a drug without a prescription, certainly not a sterile injectable drug.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Since April this year, parents across York have been targeted via GP surgeries, pharmacies, family hubs, schools and nurseries with information and offers of support on how to potty-train their child ahead of starting school.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
They have also scaled back efforts to send informational materials to clinicians and pharmacies ahead of respiratory-virus season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I had to go to three different pharmacies to find one of these.”
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
