drug test

noun

plural drug tests

1

: a test that examines a bodily specimen (as of urine, saliva, blood, or hair) for the presence of one or more usually illegal or banned substances (such as cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or anabolic steroids)

a positive drug test

He was brandishing a shot-gun, and a drug test after his arrest revealed traces of PCP.

—Alan Light

When an athlete has been using EPO and faces a drug test, a standard way of passing it is to dilute his blood with a saline solution.

—Samuel Abt

… the one-year suspension California horse-racing officials gave him for a positive drug test on one of his horses while he was college student and part-time trainer.

—Joe Drape

2

: a study and especially a clinical trial for testing a therapeutic agent

The drug tests are blinded so that participating patients and doctors … don't know who is receiving the drug and who is receiving a placebo.

—Rhonda L. Rundle

drug test transitive verb

drug tested; drug testing; drug tests

… some in the community may be wondering if elected officials or county employees can be randomly drug tested.

—Brittany Stovall

drug testing noun

plural drug testings

… after months of chemical analysis the lab found an anabolic steroid … which had been cleverly engineered to evade standard drug testing.

—Malcolm Gladwell

We have to get medals and go to the interview room and into drug testing right after we swim.

—Matt Biondi

She was court ordered to attend meetings, classes and to submit to random drug testings.

—Jaclyn OMalley

drug-testing labs

Examples of drug test in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Patients commonly sign lengthy contracts agreeing to abide by clinic policies, and are often required to participate in frequent drug tests and counseling sessions as a condition of receiving their medication. —Lev Facher, STAT, 26 Mar. 2024

But the next day, the medal ceremony for the event was canceled and the results were thrown into disarray after Valieva had a positive drug test. —USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024

Related:Independent drug test ordered for Colerain student accused of attacking teacher There is also no price tag on the project yet. —Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2024

The Medical Exams Since 1987, doctors with IU Health, a healthcare system affiliated with Indiana University School of Medicine, perform x-rays, MRIs, echocardiograms, EKGs, blood and drug tests, and other exams at each year’s Combine. —Chris Deubert, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

Two bills — House Bill 1053 and Senate Bill 96 — have been filed this session to decriminalize drug test strips. —Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 31 Jan. 2024

Though unwittingly taking a methamphetamine pill may not necessarily carry the same immediate risk of death as accidentally consuming fentanyl, drug experts say there are still significant concerns — such as failing a drug test, accidentally running afoul of the law or having unanticipated effects. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024

Many clinics use drug tests to determine whether their patients still use illicit substances, and shape their medical decisions accordingly. —Lev Facher, STAT, 12 Mar. 2024

Bennett said that regardless of the outcome of the drug tests, the teen should not be moved to adult court. —The Enquirer, 26 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Medical Definition

drug test

noun

1

: a test that examines a bodily specimen (as of urine, saliva, blood, or hair) for the presence of one or more usually illegal or banned substances (such as cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, or anabolic steroids)

a positive drug test

According to the Denver laboratory that performed the drug tests, his urine sample after last Wednesday's race showed the presence of "a drug of the phenylethylamine class."

—The New York Times

2

: a study and especially a clinical trial for testing a therapeutic agent

Because patients sometimes get better or worse on their own, drug tests also need a control group to compare the new drug with standard treatment or a placebo.

—Marilyn Chase, The Wall Street Journal

drug test transitive verb

drug testing noun

random drug testing