performance-enhancing drug
noun
: a substance (such as an anabolic steroid, human growth hormone, or erythropoietin) that is used illicitly to improve athletic performance
In the United States, more than 1 million elite and recreational athletes use performance-enhancing drugs for muscle building purposes.—
Josiah D. Rich et al.
Josiah D. Rich et al.…33 of the 48 major and minor league players suspended by baseball for using performance-enhancing drugs since the start of 2006 were pitchers.—Sean Gregory
Sean GregoryRoger Bannister, the first person to run a subpar four-minute mile, said today he thought that increased use of blood testing could help curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs by track and field athletes.—The New York Times
—abbreviation PED
The New York TimesExamples of performance-enhancing drug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Xenon is also banned by the world anti-doping agency as a performance-enhancing drug.
—Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 4 June 2025
In spite of consistently claiming his own physique had nothing to do with steroids, an unearthed email revealed the influencer was spending $11,000 per month on performance-enhancing drugs.
—Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
But that was better than Profar, who played only four games before his 81-game suspension for violating baseball policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Then-commissioner Bud Selig and Manfred established the DOI in 2008 on a recommendation made the prior year in the Mitchell Report, an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs in baseball that the league hired former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell of Maine to conduct.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 7 June 2025
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Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 4 June 2025
In spite of consistently claiming his own physique had nothing to do with steroids, an unearthed email revealed the influencer was spending $11,000 per month on performance-enhancing drugs.
—Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
But that was better than Profar, who played only four games before his 81-game suspension for violating baseball policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
—Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Then-commissioner Bud Selig and Manfred established the DOI in 2008 on a recommendation made the prior year in the Mitchell Report, an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs in baseball that the league hired former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell of Maine to conduct.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 7 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for performance-enhancing drug
Cite this Entry
“Performance-enhancing drug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/performance-enhancing%20drug. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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