medicine
/ˈmed.ɪ.sɪn/ IELTSAcademic
noun
Medicine is a substance or product used to treat illness, pain, or disease. It can also mean the field of treating people who are sick.
- Take the medicine after meals.
- She studies medicine at university.
- This medicine should ease your headache.
Adinary Nuance
Medicine is the general word for something you take to treat illness, and for the whole medical field. Drug can sound more technical in science or pharmacy, and pill is only one form of medicine. In everyday speech, people often say medicine for both tablets and liquids.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- thuốc
- Spanish
- medicina
- Chinese
- 药
- Japanese
- 薬
- Korean
- 약
Etymology
Medicine came into English from Old French in the Middle Ages. It goes back to Latin medicina, meaning 'the healing art' or 'remedy'.
Common phrases
take medicineprescription medicinetraditional medicinepractise medicine
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is medicine countable or uncountable?
- It is usually uncountable when you mean the field: medicine is my subject. It is also countable for a specific remedy: a medicine for coughs.
- What is the difference between medicine and medication?
- Medicine is the more common everyday word. Medication is more formal and often used in writing, hospitals, and instructions.
- Can medicine mean the study of doctors?
- Yes. Medicine can mean the branch of science and healthcare that treats illness.
- Is medicine used for tablets only?
- No. Medicine can be tablets, capsules, syrup, injections, or other forms.