Valium

American

[val-ee-uhm] / ˈvæl i əm /

Pharmacology, Trademark.

a brand of diazepam.

Valium British

/ ˈvælɪəm /

noun

a brand of diazepam used as a tranquillizer See also benzodiazepine

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

valium Cultural

A common prescription tranquilizer; trademark for the drug diazepam.

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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.

The joke among biologists is that spotted owls have Valium for blood.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2023

Bongino, instead of replying with statistics or facts, instead told Rivera to "take a Valium" and "pipe down."

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2021

Rotunno foreshadowed Leight’s appearance on the witness stand as she grilled Sciorra about her use of Valium and her behavior on the set of “The Night We Never Met.”

From Washington Times • Feb. 7, 2020

Biological theories of and treatments for the brain, notably drugs like Thorazine, lithium, Valium and Prozac, displaced Freudian psychobabble and transformed psychiatry into a truly scientific discipline.

From Scientific American • Aug. 3, 2019

Alicia wasn’t spunky, plucky or feisty; she wasn’t visibly wounded, emotionally damaged, fatally self-effacing or popping Valium in the bathroom.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2016

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