medicine

noun

med·​i·​cine ˈme-di-sən 

British usually

ˈmed-sən 

plural medicines

1

a

: a substance or preparation used in treating disease

cough medicine

b

: something that affects well-being

He's bad medicine.

—Zane Grey

2

a

: the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease

She's interested in a career in medicine.

b

: the branch of medicine concerned with the nonsurgical treatment of disease

3

: a substance (such as a drug or potion) used to treat something other than disease

4

: an object (such as a stone, animal bone, or plant root) which in some Indigenous American traditions is held to give control over natural or magical forces

also : magical power or a magical rite

medicine transitive verb

Synonyms of medicine

• medication
• drug
• remedy
• cure
• medicinal

Examples of medicine in a Sentence

He forgot to take his medicine.

Did you look in the medicine cabinet for a pain reliever?

Their research has led to many important advances in modern medicine.

She's interested in a career in medicine.

Recent Examples on the Web

Too often, America still treats oral health as an afterthought—segregated from medicine, detached from justice, and absent from too much of health policy. —Jean Paul Laurent, Time, 11 June 2026

The broader Lanserhof approach blends traditional naturopathy with the latest medical findings, energy medicine, psychology and chronomedicine. —Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 11 June 2026

And Moon is the wife of a respected local doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. —Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026

This is one of the most pressing questions in obesity medicine right now. —Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin medicina, from feminine of medicinus of a physician, from medicus

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing medicine

• allopathic medicine
• alternative medicine
• a taste/dose of someone's own medicine
• complementary medicine
• conventional medicine
• defensive medicine
• doctor of medicine
• doctor of osteopathic medicine
• emergency medicine
• folk medicine
• herbal medicine
• homeopathic medicine
• internal medicine
• medicine ball
• medicine chest
• medicine dropper
• medicine man
• medicine show
• nuclear medicine
• osteopathic medicine
• patent medicine
• personalized medicine
• physical medicine
• physical medicine and rehabilitation
• precision medicine
• regenerative medicine
• socialized medicine
• space medicine
• sports medicine
• take one's medicine
• veterinary medicine
• Western medicine

Rhymes for medicine

• biomedicine
• telemedicine

Kids Definition

medicine

noun

med·​i·​cine ˈmed-ə-sən 

1

: a substance or preparation used in treating disease

2

: the science or art that deals with the prevention, cure, or easing of disease

especially : the practice of the physician as it differs from that of the surgeon

3

: an object, power, or ceremony held to give control over natural or magical forces

Medical Definition

medicine

noun

med·​i·​cine

ˈmed-ə-sən, British usually ˈmed-sən

1

: a substance or preparation used in treating disease

2

a

: the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease

b

: the branch of medicine concerned with the nonsurgical treatment of disease