noun
medicine
MEHD-ih-sn
noun
1
A substance taken to treat or prevent illness.
"The pharmacist explained how to take the medicine safely."
"He hates the taste of cough medicine."
2
The science and practice of diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease.
"She decided to study medicine after volunteering at a hospital."
3
Among some Indigenous cultures, ritual or spiritual practices believed to influence healing or fortune.
"The elder spoke of the medicine bundle passed down through generations."
How to Use Medicine
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBroadly, anything used or practiced to heal the body — from a pill you swallow to the entire profession of doctors.
Common pairings
take medicine
practice medicine
preventive medicine
traditional medicine
Word Forms
medicined past tense, medicines plural, medicines singular
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Etymology
From Old French medecine, from Latin medicīna ("the healing art"), from medicus ("physician"). The sense referring to Indigenous ritual practice was later borrowed to translate similar concepts from Ojibwe and related languages.