pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

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 sense 2

Synonyms

• drugstore

Examples of pharmacy in a Sentence

There's a pharmacy in our grocery store now.

She's studying pharmacy at the university.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rite Aid, once one of America’s biggest pharmacy chains, shuttered its remaining 89 stores this week after filing for bankruptcy in May for the second time in less than two years. —Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025

Former customers can still use the site to find a new pharmacy and request their pharmacy records. —Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025

Medicine deserts are areas lacking sufficient healthcare providers or pharmacies. —Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2025

The company’s website is now blank except for a service that helps former customers find a new pharmacy and a link to request pharmacy records. —Usa Today, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

plural pharmacies

1

: the art, practice, or profession of preparing drugs according to a doctor's prescription

2

a

: a place where medicines are made or distributed

b

: drugstore

Medical Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

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

a hospital pharmacy

b

: drugstore

3

: pharmacopoeia sense 2