medicine
noun
med·i·cine
ˈme-di-sən 
British usually
ˈmed-sən
1
a
: a substance or preparation used in treating disease
cough medicine
b
: something that affects well-being
he's bad medicine—
Zane Grey
Zane Grey2
a
: the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease
She's interested in a career in medicine.
b
: the branch of medicine concerned with the nonsurgical treatment of disease
3
: a substance (such as a drug or potion) used to treat something other than disease
4
: an object held in traditional American Indian belief to give control over natural or magical forces
also
: magical power or a magical rite
medicine
transitive verb
Examples of medicine in a Sentence
He forgot to take his medicine.
Did you look in the medicine cabinet for a pain reliever?
Their research has led to many important advances in modern medicine.
She's interested in a career in medicine.
Recent Examples on the Web
Science magazine described the medicine the most important scientific advance of 2024.
Already a subscriber?
—Jorge Garay, Wired News, 20 June 2025
The positive result, which the player blamed on accidentally ingesting some of his son’s cough medicine, only became apparent once Gomez had left Sevilla and joined Monza in 2023.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 20 June 2025
The virus appears to be more transmissible because there appear to be changes to the spike protein, which is what the virus uses to attach to and infect cells, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 19 June 2025
Rather than confronting Judy directly, the women in the Reddit post opted for what the poster describes a taste of her own medicine.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for medicine
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Jorge Garay, Wired News, 20 June 2025
The positive result, which the player blamed on accidentally ingesting some of his son’s cough medicine, only became apparent once Gomez had left Sevilla and joined Monza in 2023.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 20 June 2025
The virus appears to be more transmissible because there appear to be changes to the spike protein, which is what the virus uses to attach to and infect cells, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 19 June 2025
Rather than confronting Judy directly, the women in the Reddit post opted for what the poster describes a taste of her own medicine.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for medicine
Cite this Entry
“Medicine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medicine. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
medicine
noun
med·i·cine
ˈmed-ə-sən
1
: a substance or preparation used in treating disease
2
: the science or art that deals with the prevention, cure, or easing of disease
especially
: the practice of the physician as it differs from that of the surgeon
3
: an object, power, or ceremony held to give control over natural or magical forces
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