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

Mendoza failed a drug test in November 2024 while on supervised release for a 2015 conviction of distributing methamphetamine, and by February 2025, a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to records. — Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 26 June 2026

Ray did his due diligence, hiring an addiction counsellor, administering urine drug tests, and completing a course in pain management. — Adeline Goss, New Yorker, 11 June 2026

It was alleged that Murphy had years of misconduct, which included improperly touching genitals during massages and intrusive observation during urine sampling for drug tests. — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026

As a result of the allegations, Derry was subjected to a drug test and ultimately tested positive for THC and cocaine. — Patrick Damp, CBS News, 8 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for drug test

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed

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