off-label

adjective

off-la·​bel ˈȯf-ˌlā-bəl 

: of, relating to, or being a drug used to treat a condition for which it has not been officially approved

Examples of off-label in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While the researchers don't have an exact number for how widespread the use of rapamycin is, based on the team's connections with practitioners, Hands predicts there are likely thousands of people engaged in off-label use of the drug. —Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025

All are awaiting sentencing. Perry, who was found dead at age 54 at his home on Oct. 23, 2023, had been getting ketamine from his regular doctor for treatment of depression, an increasingly common off-label use for the surgical anesthetic. —Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. —Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2025

Doctors have long prescribed off-label medications, usually through trial and error or in clinical trials, but now A.I. appears poised to supercharge the practice. —Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 15 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for off-label

• damnable
• disable
• enable
• roundtable
• timetable
• turntable
• unable
• unstable
• able
• chaebol
• fable
• label

Medical Definition

off-label

adjective

off-la·​bel ˌȯf-ˌlā-bəl 

: of, relating to, or being an approved drug legally prescribed or a medical device legally used by a physician for a purpose (as the treatment of children or of a certain disease or condition) for which it has not been specifically approved (as by the United States Food and Drug Administration)

the off-label use of oral contraceptives to treat dysmenorrhea