heroin

noun

her·​o·​in ˈher-ə-wən How to pronounce heroin (audio)
ˈhe-rə-
: a strongly physiologically addictive narcotic C21H23NO5 that is made by acetylation of but is more potent than morphine and that is prohibited for medical use in the U.S. but is used illicitly for its euphoric effects
heroinism noun

Examples of heroin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Naloxone targets the same brain receptors as heroin and fentanyl, dislodging the chemicals that can slow breathing and starve the brain of oxygen. Todd C. Frankel, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2023 Crawford, who lived in Southlake, died after overdosing on heroin, according to a medical examiner’s report. Gromer Jeffers Jr., Dallas News, 17 Sep. 2023 The difference now is that fentanyl is roughly 50 times more potent than heroin. Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2023 That year, 282 people in Hamilton County died of heroin, fentanyl or both. David Ovalle, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Sep. 2023 Rippe began tasting her parents’ heroin at age nine. Jennifer Egan, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 When the states cracked down on the pill mills, people turned to a new market fueled with heroin, brought in primarily by Mexican cartels. Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 8 Sep. 2023 Each illicit drug substance (cocaine, meth, heroin) is more and more likely to be laced with fentanyl, and fentanyl kills. Wilson M. Sims, Longreads, 7 Sep. 2023 For decades, intelligence agencies have been able to monitor acres of foreign coca farms and opium poppy fields from the air before crops were turned into cocaine and heroin. oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heroin.' 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

from Heroin, a trademark

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heroin was in 1898

Dictionary Entries Near heroin

Cite this Entry

“Heroin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heroin. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

heroin

noun
her·​o·​in ˈher-ə-wən How to pronounce heroin (audio)
: a strongly addictive drug made from the opium poppy and stronger than morphine

Medical Definition

heroin

noun
her·​o·​in ˈher-ə-wən How to pronounce heroin (audio)
: a strongly physiologically addictive narcotic C21H23NO5 that is made by acetylation of but is more potent than morphine and that is prohibited for medical use in the United States but is used illicitly for its euphoric effects

called also acetomorphine, diacetylmorphine, diamorphine

More from Merriam-Webster on heroin

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