medication

noun

med·​i·​ca·​tion ˌme-di-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce medication (audio)
Synonyms of medicationnext
1
: the act or process of medicating
2
: a medicinal substance : medicament

Synonyms of medication

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of medication in a Sentence

The company has developed a new allergy medication. He stopped taking his medications. Her illness has not responded to medication.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Presley was hopelessly addicted to prescription medication at this point, dealing with a wide multitude of chronic health disorders. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2026 Patients with a low-income subsidy in Medicare’s outpatient pharmaceutical benefit called Part D, who are used to paying little or nothing out-of-pocket for their medications, get no reduction. — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 But how much medication ended up available could depend on the slow accretion of evidence, built up one grant at a time. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 31 July 2026 When caught early, MSS may be treated conservatively with anti-inflammatory medications and sometimes colchicine, a treatment for gout. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for medication

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of medication was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing medication

Rhymes for medication

See All Rhymes for medication

Browse Nearby Words

medicated candle
medication
medicative
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Medication.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medication. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

medication

noun
med·​i·​ca·​tion ˌmed-ə-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce medication (audio)
1
: the act or process of medicating
2
: a medicinal substance : medicament

More from Merriam-Webster on medication

Nglish: Translation of medication for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All