pharmacy

noun phar·ma·cy \ ˈfär-mə-sē \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of pharmacy

plural pharmacies

1 : the art, practice, or profession of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing medical drugs

2 a : a place where medicines are compounded or dispensed

b : drugstore

3 : pharmacopoeia 2

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Examples of pharmacy in a Sentence

There's a pharmacy in our grocery store now.
She's studying pharmacy at the university.

Recent Examples of pharmacy from the Web

But their ability to grow is largely controlled by existing competitors, including major pharmacy benefit managers who have been accused of twisting contract terms to block pharmacies’ access to their millions of U.S. customers.

— casey ross, STAT, "Feds broaden the definition of ‘pharmacy’ in a bid to level playing field for startups," 6 Apr. 2018
The entire 75-acre site, which includes a pharmacy, retail incubator space, neighborhood center and community gardens, was made to be more connected.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "In Milwaukee, a public housing project aims to revitalize a neighborhood," 5 Apr. 2018
Astier de Villatte’s first shop in Paris was once an 18th-century pharmacy, replete with requisite cubbies.

— ella riley-adams, Vogue, "John Derian’s New Store Is Perfectly at Home in Greenwich Village," 1 Apr. 2018
An employee who police said stole more than $22,500 from a Hamden pharmacy was arrested this week.

— christine dempsey, courant.com, "Hamden PD: Store Worker Stole More Than $22,500," 30 Mar. 2018
The biggest deal so far this year is the acquisition by Cigna, an American insurer, of Express Scripts, a pharmacy-benefit manager, for $70bn.

— The Economist, "Global mergers and acquisitions," 28 Mar. 2018
Between 2013 and 2015, prescriptions approved by Express Scripts Holding Co., a giant pharmacy benefits manager, didn’t decline.

— maryn mckenna, WIRED, "The Yelping of The American Doctor," 22 Mar. 2018
So Arkansas, whose state government is controlled by conservatives, convened a special legislative session to give the state Insurance Department regulatory oversight over pharmacy benefit managers.

— david dayen, The New Republic, "The Democrats’ Rural Voter Problem (and How to Fix It)," 20 Mar. 2018
Could slurping up chicken soup save me a trip to the local pharmacy?

— lisa drayer, CNN, "Does chicken soup really help fight a cold?," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pharmacy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pharmacy

Late Latin pharmacia administration of drugs, from Greek pharmakeia, from pharmakeuein to administer drugs, from pharmakon magic charm, poison, drug

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1651

See Words from the same year