poison
Americannoun
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poisons
plural
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a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
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something harmful or pernicious, as to happiness or well-being.
the poison of slander.
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Slang. any variety of alcoholic liquor.
Name your poison!
verb (used with object)
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poisons,
present (3rd person singular)
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poisoned,
past participle, past
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poisoning
present participle
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to administer poison to (a person or animal).
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to kill or injure with or as if with poison.
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to put poison into or upon; saturate with poison.
to poison food.
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to ruin, vitiate, or corrupt.
Hatred had poisoned his mind.
- Synonyms:
- taint, pollute, contaminate
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Chemistry. to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).
adjective
noun
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any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body
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something that destroys, corrupts, etc
the poison of fascism
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a substance that retards a chemical reaction or destroys or inhibits the activity of a catalyst
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a substance that absorbs neutrons in a nuclear reactor and thus slows down the reaction. It may be added deliberately or formed during fission
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informal what would you like to drink?
verb
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to give poison to (a person or animal) esp with intent to kill
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to add poison to
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to taint or infect with or as if with poison
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(foll by against) to turn (a person's mind) against
he poisoned her mind against me
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to retard or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the action of a poison
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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.
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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poisonernoun
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poisonlessnessnoun
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self-poisonernoun
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outpoisonverb (used with object)
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poisonlessadjective
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unpoisonedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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poisonsimple
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poisonssimple
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have poisonedperfect
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has poisonedperfect
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am poisoningprogressive
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are poisoningprogressive
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is poisoningprogressive
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have been poisoningperfect progressive
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has been poisoningperfect progressive
Past
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poisonedsimple
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had poisonedperfect
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was poisoningprogressive
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were poisoningprogressive
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had been poisoningperfect progressive
Future
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
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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 only way we can root out this poison is through a whole of society approach."
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
But as is so often the case in world affairs, there are no good guys in the story and you have to pick your poison.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
The final installment, published Friday, described succession as “the poison at the heart of LVMH.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Research has found acetamiprid can poison honey bees, affecting their foraging capacity and memory, while a 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone could be lethal to some bees.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Brightbill fluttered his wings and squawked, “Ma, don’t go anywhere near the poison tide! We can’t risk your safety. You’re too important to the island.”
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
If one does not appreciate the nature and importance of the squabble, Freidenberg maintained, one cannot really grasp how totalitarianism poisons every moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The Scottish Parliament's powers are limited and do not extend to the regulation of "medicines, medical supplies, and poisons" or of health professionals.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
But he sure makes the strongest case for being the most malevolent, influential force there, a malignancy that poisons everything he touches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
But then he enacts the scene in which Iago subtly poisons Othello’s mind into believing that his wife is having an affair with a handsome lieutenant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
Nothing about blusher mushrooms, nothing about poisons at all.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Scores of protesters marched a mile from the site of the hazardous blaze to the meeting, chanting as they walked that the warehouse had poisoned their community and they wanted it removed permanently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The right-back position is becoming a poisoned chalice, either because of injuries or loss of form.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
If you are poisoned by milk, you can sue the manufacturer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
"It's kind of a poisoned chalice for any Chinese defence minister to speak out publicly," said Jennifer Parker, adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia's Defence and Security Institute.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Merry did not like this talk of wild men and poisoned darts, but quite apart from that a great weight of dread was on him.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
But I’m not saying I got food poisoning from Found.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It comes after the UK Health Security Agency declared a national outbreak of salmonella food poisoning after one person died and hundreds more fell ill.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The staff’s “rebellion,” Ms. Rogoyska tells us, lay “not in poisoning the Germans’ soup but in keeping something hidden from their masters, right under their noses: the finest wine, and perhaps a few men, too.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Alongside efforts to restrict access and harmful information, the researchers suggest that emergency services could take additional steps to reduce the consequences of sodium nitrite poisoning.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
The king had vaguely hinted at some sort of issue with rebels poisoning their food stores, but the details were murky enough to suggest that the truth was buried somewhere else.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
