prescribe
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Medicine/Medical. to designate remedies, treatment, etc., to be used.
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Law. to claim a right or title by virtue of long use and enjoyment; make a prescriptive claim. (usually followed by for orto ).
verb
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to lay down as a rule or directive
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law to claim or acquire (a right, title, etc) by prescription
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law to make or become invalid or unenforceable by lapse of time
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med to recommend or order the use of (a drug or other remedy)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonprescribernoun
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misprescribeverb
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prescribernoun
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represcribeverb (used with object)
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prescribableadjective
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overprescribeverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has prescribedperfect 3rd person singular
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have prescribedperfect
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are prescribingprogressive
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has been prescribingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is prescribingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am prescribingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been prescribingperfect progressive
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prescribingparticiple
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prescribessingular 3rd person
Past
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had prescribedperfect
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were prescribingprogressive plural
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had been prescribingperfect progressive
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was prescribingprogressive singular
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prescribedsimple
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prescribedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of prescribe
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English from Latin praescrībere “to direct in writing,” literally, “to write before or above,” equivalent to prae- pre- + scrībere “to write”; see scribe 1, prescription
Explanation
To prescribe is make orders or give directions for something to be done. These days, the word is mainly used by doctors who prescribe medications to take. Doctors do a lot of prescribing: they prescribe drugs, rest, exercise, and getting rid of bad habits like smoking. When a doctor prescribes something, he or she is saying, "You need to do this. You should do it." That's the most common use of prescribe, but it pops up anywhere someone is advising or ordering someone to do something. All laws and rules prescribe things — they tell you what to do.
Vocabulary lists containing prescribe
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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"Preamble" and "Bill of Rights," Vocabulary from the U.S. Constitution
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Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)
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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.
Rees, one of the last surviving sons of the Mormon pioneers who worked with Brigham Young, wrote two books, “I Prescribe Laughter” and “Rambling Thoughts in Verse.”
From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2018
Prescribe basic policies governing the filling of the Federal Government's requirements for manpower, excluding those of the military and naval forces, and issue operating directives.
From Time Magazine Archive
So modern 'Pothecaries, taught the art By Doctor's bills to play the Doctor's part, Bold in the practice of mistaken rules, Prescribe, apply, and call their masters fools.
From The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems by Pope, Alexander
Prescribe the bath, frictions, and fomentations, and though it seems a round-about way, you get at the brains by his feet.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 2 by Disraeli, Isaac
"Prescribe something, then, as his majesty has commanded it," said Amelia, coldly.
From Berlin and Sans-Souci; or Frederick the Great and his friends by Mühlbach, L. (Luise)
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.
