toxicology
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of toxicology
Explanation
Toxicology is the field that studies poisons, especially how poisons work and how to treat them. If you’re writing a true crime story, you should study toxicology to know what happens when the villain poisons the victim’s tea. Mwah ha ha. Have you ever seen a label that said "toxic"? That means that substance will harm you. Toxicology — which is a branch of pharmacology — has to do with toxic substances (poisons). It comes from the Greek word for “arrow poison.” Not all poisons come at the end of an arrow, though. If a toxicology report is done on a dead person, it will reveal if they had any dangerous substances in them, such as illegal drugs or drain cleaner.
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.
Most previous toxicology research involving honeybees has centered on worker bees.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
On Saturday Greek police said they were fast-tracking toxicology reports in order to ascertain the cause of her death, potentially "in the coming days".
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
She has undergone repeated physical examinations, comprehensive blood work, advanced imaging, toxicology screening and a blood transfusion, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Strickland insisted on a toxicology report to go along with the autopsy, he told Boyd, “just to cover you.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Baird conceded, though, that because of the toxicology issues, this one may be tougher than the one with the driver and the bad brakes.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
