poison
Americannoun
-
a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
-
something harmful or pernicious, as to happiness or well-being.
the poison of slander.
-
Slang. any variety of alcoholic liquor.
Name your poison!
verb (used with object)
-
to administer poison to (a person or animal).
-
to kill or injure with or as if with poison.
-
to put poison into or upon; saturate with poison.
to poison food.
-
to ruin, vitiate, or corrupt.
Hatred had poisoned his mind.
- Synonyms:
- taint, pollute, contaminate
-
Chemistry. to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).
adjective
noun
-
any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body
-
something that destroys, corrupts, etc
the poison of fascism
-
a substance that retards a chemical reaction or destroys or inhibits the activity of a catalyst
-
a substance that absorbs neutrons in a nuclear reactor and thus slows down the reaction. It may be added deliberately or formed during fission
-
informal what would you like to drink?
verb
-
to give poison to (a person or animal) esp with intent to kill
-
to add poison to
-
to taint or infect with or as if with poison
-
(foll by against) to turn (a person's mind) against
he poisoned her mind against me
-
to retard or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the action of a poison
-
to inhibit or destroy (the activity of a catalyst) by the action of a poison
Usage
What does poison mean? A poison is a substance that causes bodily harm or destroys health, The vile was filled with a deadly poison. In this sense, poison can be used as a verb to mean to give poison to a living thing, as in The farmer poisoned his rival’s sheep. Poison can also mean to harm or kill a living thing with poison, as in The king died because he had been poisoned by one of his own knights. And poison can mean to add poison to something, as in The knight poisoned the king’s wine to achieve his wicked goal. More generally, poison can be used to refer to any harmful or corruptive thing, as in Trevor was doomed by the poison of gambling. In this sense, you can use poison as a verb as well, as in Isabelle’s mind was poisoned by the lies contained in the forbidden books. Finally, poison can be used as an adjective to mean something that can cause poisoning, as in There are many poison plants in the woods. Something that contains poison is said to be poisonous, as in He went to the hospital after being bitten by a poisonous spider. Example: Because we handle chemicals that are dangerous poisons in our lab, we take many safety precautions.
Related Words
Poison, toxin, venom are terms for any substance that injures the health or destroys life when absorbed into the system, especially of a higher animal. Poison is the general word: a poison for insects. A toxin is a poison produced by an organism; it is especially used in medicine in reference to disease-causing bacterial secretions: A toxin produces diphtheria. Venom is especially used of the poisons secreted by certain animals, usually injected by bite or sting: the venom of a snake.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of poison
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English puisun, from Old French, from Latin pōtiōn- (stem of pōtiō ) “drink, potion, poisonous draught.” See potion.
Explanation
Poison is a substance that can harm or even kill you. Arsenic and cyanide are both types of poison—so stay away from them! Mean people can also be poison, so stay away from them too. Poison refers to the harmful substance itself, or the act of giving it to someone. Poison often shows up in murder mysteries because it’s a sneaky way to get rid of someone. We also use poison metaphorically for things that tend to ruin something. A really obnoxious friend who always insists that he knows more than everyone else might poison the atmosphere at a dinner party. Jealousy can poison a good relationship.
Vocabulary lists containing poison
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Words from Shakespearean Insults
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Beowulf vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Blue Planet II followed in 2017, and helped alert the world to "the crime of chucking plastic into the ocean that can throttle and poison creatures, including ourselves", Sir David told BBC News in 2019.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Chemo is a big pain if you’re delivering a drug, a chemotherapy, a chemical poison to your tumors, but it’s also hitting all of your own body’s ability to grow tissue.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
By helping ants learn bait locations more quickly and recruit more nestmates, caffeine could increase how effectively poison spreads through a colony before the ants detect it.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026
"This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism," Starmer added on X.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
“Luckily, the poison tide hasn’t spread everywhere,” said Brightbill.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
