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.
They are also required to undergo a medical evaluation, a psychological screening and a drug test. Sarah Dewberry, CNN Money, 12 May 2025 At the time, the suspension was never officially announced, but reports later surfaced that Johnson had failed a third drug test, prompting the ban. Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025 Saturday marked the return of Baffert to the Run of the Roses after missing each of the previous three races due to a suspension from 2021 Derby winner Medina Spirit’s failed a drug test. Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 3 May 2025 About 6,000 drug tests are believed to have generated false positive results in 2024, according to attorneys at UnCommon Law, a nonprofit advocacy group that represents inmates seeking parole. Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 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 24 May. 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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