Okuzeka
Pharmacy & Pharmacology vocabulary · Drug Classes

Drug

Meaning in pharmacy & pharmacology, with examples

/drʌɡ/nounCore term

In pharmacy & pharmacology, drug means: A chemical substance that changes how the body works and is used to prevent, diagnose or treat a disease; in everyday speech it can also mean an illegal substance.

In Turkish: ilaç, ilaç maddesi

How it is used

The standard word in pharmacology, science and regulation: drug class, drug interaction, drug development, drug safety. With patients, 'medicine' or 'medication' is often safer, because 'drugs' alone can sound like illegal substances. In the US a pharmacy shop is also called a drugstore.

Example sentences

  1. This drug is mainly cleared by the kidneys, so we need to check her renal function first.

  2. Which drugs is he taking at the moment, including anything he buys himself?

Common collocations

  • prescription drug
  • drug class
  • drug development
  • drug safety
  • take a drug
  • active ingredientThe substance in a medicine that produces its therapeutic effect, as opposed to the other ingredients that give the product its shape, taste or stability.
  • pharmacologyThe science that studies how drugs act on living organisms, including how they work, what effects they have and how the body absorbs and removes them.
  • generic drugA medicine with the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form and effect as an original branded medicine, usually sold after the original's patent has expired.
  • drug interactionA change in the effect of a medicine caused by another medicine, a food, a drink or a disease, which can make the medicine weaker, stronger or more harmful.

More terms: Drug Classes

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.