phar·ma·ceu·ti·cal
ˌfär-mə-ˈsü-ti-kəl 
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
: a medicinal drug
Examples of pharmaceutical in a Sentence
Adjective
lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry
Noun
some pharmaceuticals can be quite risky unless taken correctly
Recent Examples on the Web
Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
In response, the president said the drugmaker will be exempt from pharmaceutical tariffs for three years.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 Oct. 2025
The licensing model is widely used by US pharmaceutical companies to gain access to cancer therapies now pouring out of Chinese labs.
—semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharmaceutical
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
According to the German Environment Agency (UBA), 40 active pharmaceutical ingredients were already detected in drinking water by 2023.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
In response, the president said the drugmaker will be exempt from pharmaceutical tariffs for three years.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
Inside its new home, Elanco embraces animal pharmaceuticals.
—Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 Oct. 2025
The licensing model is widely used by US pharmaceutical companies to gain access to cancer therapies now pouring out of Chinese labs.
—semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pharmaceutical
Cite this Entry
“Pharmaceutical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharmaceutical. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pharmaceutical
1 of 2 adjective
phar·ma·ceu·ti·cal
ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl
: of, relating to, or involved in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of medicinal drugs
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutical
2 of 2 noun
: a drug or preparation used in medicine
Medical Definition
pharmaceutical
1 of 2 adjective
phar·ma·ceu·ti·cal
ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl
variants
also pharmaceutic
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutical
2 of 2 noun
variants
also pharmaceutic
: a medicinal drug
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share