patent medicine

noun

: a nonprescription medicinal preparation that is typically protected by a trademark and whose contents are incompletely disclosed

also : any drug that is a proprietary

Note: Patent medicine is often used to refer to a product (such as an elixir, tonic, or liniment) that was marketed as a medicine in the U.S. during the 1800s and early 1900s but was typically of unproven effectiveness and questionable safety.

Examples of patent medicine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By the end of the century, lithia water (water with a trace amount of lithium) was marketed as a patent medicine. —Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024

Sales of purgatives, tonics, syrups and patent medicines like Carter’s Little Liver Pills went through the roof as ordinary people were encouraged to closely monitor the frequency and quality of their bowel movements. —Elsa Richardson, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024

In addition, companies and drugstores exploited loopholes by creating and selling patent medicines with high alcohol content. —David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 23 July 2023

The classic form of medical quackery in the U.S. market was patent medicine — basically useless concoctions made mainly of alcohol and morphine, sometimes containing downright damaging ingredients like lead and arsenic. —Kim Adams, Discover Magazine, 30 June 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

patent medicine

noun

: a medicine (as cough syrup) available for sale to the public without a doctor's prescription, that is protected by a trademark, has contents which may not be fully disclosed, and especially in the past was often of unproven effectiveness

Medical Definition

patent medicine

noun

pat·​ent medicine

ˈpat-ᵊnt-, British usually ˈpāt-

: a nonprescription medicinal preparation that is typically protected by a trademark and whose contents are incompletely disclosed

also : any drug that is a proprietary

Note: Patent medicine is often used to refer to a product (as an elixir, tonic, or liniment) that was marketed as a medicine in the U.S. during the 1800s and early 1900s but was typically of unproven effectiveness and questionable safety.

Legal Definition

patent medicine

noun

: a packaged nonprescription drug which is protected by a trademark and whose contents are incompletely disclosed

also : any drug that is a proprietary