pharmacist

noun

phar·​ma·​cist ˈfär-mə-sist 

: a health care professional licensed to engage in pharmacy with duties including dispensing prescription drugs, monitoring drug interactions, administering vaccines, and counseling patients regarding the effects and proper usage of drugs and dietary supplements

Synonyms of pharmacist

• chemist

Examples of pharmacist in a Sentence

the pharmacist caught an error in the prescription's dosage

Recent Examples on the Web

Reynolds’ plan would have allowed Iowans 18 and older to get birth control pills, birth control patches and vaginal rings, from a pharmacist without first seeing a doctor. —Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 20 Feb. 2026

The medications might include B vitamins, marketed to alleviate nausea and gastrointestinal side effects that are associated with GLP-1 drugs, or levocarnitine, which may help with muscle wasting, says Gina Moore, a pharmacist and pharmacy law expert at the University of Colorado Anschutz. —Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2026

Lawmakers backing the bill say allowing pharmacists to prescribe it could remove a barrier to care. —Daniel Wilkerson, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026

These policies leave patients without access to the care that pharmacists are more than capable of providing, both in communities and in our nations 6,100 hospitals and clinics where pharmacists also practice. —Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1721, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pharmacist

noun

phar·​ma·​cist ˈfär-mə-səst 

: one trained in pharmacy

Medical Definition

pharmacist

noun

phar·​ma·​cist ˈfär-mə-səst 

: a health care professional licensed to engage in pharmacy with duties including dispensing prescription drugs, monitoring drug interactions, administering vaccines, and counseling patients regarding the effects and proper usage of drugs and dietary supplements