poison

1 of 3

noun

poi·​son ˈpȯi-zᵊn How to pronounce poison (audio)
1
a
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
b(1)
: something destructive or harmful
(2)
: an object of aversion or abhorrence
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison

poison

2 of 3

verb

poisoned; poisoning ˈpȯiz-niŋ How to pronounce poison (audio)
ˈpȯi-zᵊn-iŋ

transitive verb

1
a
: to injure or kill with poison
b
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with or as if with poison
2
: to exert a baneful influence on : corrupt
poisoned their minds
3
: to inhibit the activity, course, or occurrence of
on the night when he poisoned my restCharles Dickens
poisoner
ˈpȯiz-nər How to pronounce poison (audio)
ˈpȯi-zᵊn-ər
noun

poison

3 of 3

adjective

1
: poisonous, venomous
a poison plant
a poison tongue
2
: impregnated with poison : poisoned
a poison arrow

Examples of poison in a Sentence

Noun a jar of rat poison The killer gave her victims food laced with poison. suck poison from a snake bite The villain in the play dies by drinking a vial of poison. Poverty is a poison to society. Verb How did the murderer poison the victim? Hundreds were poisoned from drinking the contaminated water. He was poisoned with cyanide. The factory poisoned the air with its fumes. Illegal dumping of waste is poisoning the stream and killing fish. He poisoned their minds with hatred for her. His angry outburst poisoned the atmosphere of the party. Adjective the witch gave Snow White a poison apple
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Victims taken to the hospital for treatment should take the mushroom to help identify the poison. Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024 Only a Bene Gesserit can neutralize the poison, which, we are told repeatedly, would kill any man. Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Feyd administers poison to Thufir in order to control him, while Kynes dramatically dies in the desert, eaten by a worm. Max Evry, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 Multiple tunnels were constructed on Alderney, and two canisters of Zyklon B — the poison used by the Germans in the gas chambers — were found there, Mr. Roberts said. Claire Moses, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Perspective Carolyn Hax: Navigating her mom’s careless nature Perspective Carolyn Hax: A strikingly petty father poisons the whole family Perspective Carolyn Hax: Why can’t my family be close like others? Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 But in 2015, plant toxicology experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew told a coroner’s court that traces of a rare plant poison – gelsemium – were found in his stomach. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024 After the president’s death, rumors began to circulate that the shooter had dipped the bullet in poison. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024 While there's plenty of those in New York, some feared that Flaco would accidentally consume rat poison. Juliana Kim, NPR, 24 Feb. 2024
Verb
Michael Hiltzik: Two Rutgers professors are accused of poisoning the debate over COVID’s origins. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Some plants can poison pets if eaten: autumn crocus, cyclamen, kalanchoe, daffodils and true lilies can be fatal, while others are more benign. Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024 Indigenous people say armed miners threaten them, scare off wild game, and pollute rivers with mercury – poisoning the fish and their drinking water. Ana Ionova, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024 People poisoned from eating fish containing the toxin experience unpleasant gastrointestinal, neurological and even cardiac symptoms that typically resolve within a few days, but could last weeks, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024 Trump, meanwhile, has dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric, suggesting migrants are poisoning the blood of Americans. Seung Min Kim,colleen Long, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2024 Navalny returned to Russia in 2021, after spending months recovering in Germany from Novichok poisoning a Bellingcat-CNN investigation found was carried about by Russian intelligence. Matthew Chance, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 The music video directed by Patricia Alfonso and Chris Cabrera, and produced by Eat My Shorts, finds all four artists serving as the trusted henchman of a female mafia leader who poisons all of her male lovers in her lavish mansion. Ingrid Fajardo, Billboard, 1 Mar. 2024 The objective of the training was to increase the knowledge of health care providers in lead poisoning management and prevention and to empower them as facilitators and trainers in their respective districts. Unicef Usa, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs. National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020 Some farmers even intentionally poison cranes to stop them from foraging in their crops. National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2020 Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species. Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, 25 July 2019 Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy. Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poison.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French poisun drink, potion, poison, from Latin potion-, potio drink — more at potion

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of poison was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near poison

Cite this Entry

“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

poison

1 of 3 noun
poi·​son ˈpȯiz-ən How to pronounce poison (audio)
1
: a substance that by its chemical action can kill or injure a living thing
2
: something destructive or harmful

poison

2 of 3 verb
poisoned; poisoning ˈpȯiz-niŋ How to pronounce poison (audio)
-ᵊn-iŋ
1
a
: to injure or kill with poison
b
: to put poison in or on
poisoned the air with its fumes
2
: to exert a harmful influence on : corrupt
poisoned their minds
poisoner
ˈpȯiz-nər How to pronounce poison (audio)
-ᵊn-ər
noun

poison

3 of 3 adjective
: poisonous
a poison plant
Etymology

Noun

Middle English poison "poison, a poisonous drink," from early French poison "drink, potion, poison," from Latin potion-, potio "a drink, potion" — related to potion

Medical Definition

poison

1 of 3 noun
poi·​son ˈpȯiz-ᵊn How to pronounce poison (audio)
1
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison

poison

2 of 3 transitive verb
poisoned; poisoning ˈpȯiz-niŋ, -ᵊn-iŋ How to pronounce poison (audio)
1
: to injure or kill with poison
2
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with poison

poison

3 of 3 adjective
1
: poisonous
a poison plant
2
: impregnated with poison
a poison arrow

More from Merriam-Webster on poison

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