drug test

noun

plural drug tests
1
: a test that examines a bodily specimen (as of urine, saliva, blood, or hair) for the presence of one or more usually illegal or banned substances (such as cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or anabolic steroids)
a positive drug test
He was brandishing a shot-gun, and a drug test after his arrest revealed traces of PCP.Alan Light
When an athlete has been using EPO and faces a drug test, a standard way of passing it is to dilute his blood with a saline solution.Samuel Abt
… the one-year suspension California horse-racing officials gave him for a positive drug test on one of his horses while he was college student and part-time trainer.Joe Drape
2
: a study and especially a clinical trial for testing a therapeutic agent
The drug tests are blinded so that participating patients and doctors … don't know who is receiving the drug and who is receiving a placebo.Rhonda L. Rundle
drug test transitive verb
drug tested; drug testing; drug tests
… some in the community may be wondering if elected officials or county employees can be randomly drug tested. Brittany Stovall
drug testing noun
plural drug testings
… after months of chemical analysis the lab found an anabolic steroid … which had been cleverly engineered to evade standard drug testing. Malcolm Gladwell
We have to get medals and go to the interview room and into drug testing right after we swim. Matt Biondi
She was court ordered to attend meetings, classes and to submit to random drug testings. Jaclyn OMalley
drug-testing labs

Examples of drug test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Rountree 4.5 months for that drug test failure. Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025 Though Newsweek has been unable to verify the veracity of the image, the drug test lists a woman named Jennifer Taylor as being associated with Fastest Labs of South Austin. Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025 The paper reported Musk has gotten advanced warnings of SpaceX drug tests, citing individuals close to the process. Filip Timotija, The Hill, 30 May 2025 While the old diversion program allowed doctors to avoid discipline by agreeing to treatment and monitoring of drug tests for five years, the new version would not go so far. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for drug test

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of drug test was in 1863

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Cite this Entry

“Drug test.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drug%20test. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

Medical Definition

drug test

noun
1
: a test that examines a bodily specimen (as of urine, saliva, blood, or hair) for the presence of one or more usually illegal or banned substances (such as cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or anabolic steroids)
a positive drug test
According to the Denver laboratory that performed the drug tests, his urine sample after last Wednesday's race showed the presence of "a drug of the phenylethylamine class."The New York Times
2
: a study and especially a clinical trial for testing a therapeutic agent
Because patients sometimes get better or worse on their own, drug tests also need a control group to compare the new drug with standard treatment or a placebo.Marilyn Chase, The Wall Street Journal
drug test transitive verb
drug testing noun
random drug testing
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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