OCD

abbreviation or noun

ˌō-ˌsē-ˈdē 

: a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions or both that cause significant distress, are time-consuming, and interfere with normal daily functioning : obsessive-compulsive disorder

The subjects of the experiment were 18 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—unwanted and pointless but irresistible intrusive thoughts (e.g., fear of contamination by germs) and repetitive actions (e.g., handwashing or change-counting).

—The Harvard Medical School Mental Health Letter

OCD is a mental health condition that "involves both obsessions and compulsions that take up a lot of time and get in the way of important activities, such as school, family life, extracurricular activities, developing friendships, and self-care," according to the International OCD Foundation.

—Sarah D. Collins

Examples of OCD in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the film, written and directed by Gregory Caruso, Hawke portrays a 27-year-old aspiring screenwriter attempting to manage his relationships and his OCD while struggling to break into the film industry. — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

In a study posted to the preprint server bioRxiv last March, Dzirasa and his colleagues tested the tool in mice with a genetic mutation that caused repetitive grooming behaviors reminiscent of OCD. — Simon Makin, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2026

The assumption is that any psychiatric condition traces back to a single event, like a case of OCD explained by something that happened at age 4. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2026

She was later also diagnosed with OCD and trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder associated with OCD and anxiety. — Nancy Jo Sales, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026

Medical Definition

OCD

abbreviation or noun

ˌō-ˌsē-ˈdē 

: a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions or both that cause significant distress, are time-consuming, and interfere with normal daily functioning : obsessive-compulsive disorder

Childhood and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorders are sometimes seen in dermatology practice. When present, OCD is most frequently manifested in younger patients as trichotillomania …

—J. Y. Koo and L. L. Smith, Pediatric Dermatology

… drugs such as Prozac help relieve the symptoms of OCD, but 90 percent of medicated patients relapse when the drugs are withdrawn. More effective is behavioral therapy, which has a cure rate of up to 80 percent.

—Josie Glausiusz, Discover