prescribed

American

[pri-skrahybd] / prɪˈskraɪbd /

adjective

dictated or indicated as a rule or course of action to be followed.

To limit your definition of art to certain prescribed forms is to cut yourself off from the bulk of human existence.
Medicine/Medical. (of a medicine, treatment, etc.) recommended or ordered by a qualified practitioner.

Test results for legal or prescribed drugs are returned in about two minutes.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of prescribe.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of prescribed

prescribe ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

But he was then mistakenly prescribed some to take home by the discharging doctor who believed he had been taking it before being admitted.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026

Without the prescribed navigation I was accustomed to in a museum, this became a fool’s errand.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

In a letter to the Labor Department, the CFP Board warned that the proposal’s prescribed process and safe harbor “create a serious risk that prudence will be reduced to a check-the-box exercise.”

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

Studies have repeatedly shown that mifepristone is safe, including when prescribed remotely and taken at home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

It identified a group, and apparently it prescribed ways to behave and react.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023