off-label

adjective

off-la·​bel ˈȯf-ˌlā-bəl 

: of, relating to, or being a drug used to treat a condition for which it has not been officially approved

Examples of off-label in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But if the drugs aren’t approved, that means the patients who can’t get the drug off-label (either because doctors won’t prescribe, or because insurers won’t cover it) will have to wait, too. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026

Doctors can prescribe medicines off-label, and in rare disease that happens often. —Brad Quick, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026

The denials were only more vociferous at the idea of using them off-label for someone like Mundo. —Eric Boodman, STAT, 23 Mar. 2026

Prescriptions for off-label leucovorin—that is, for using the drug to treat a condition it isn’t approved for—have skyrocketed among children by 71 percent after the officials touted its potential benefits for autism. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for off-label

• damnable
• disable
• enable
• roundtable
• timetable
• turntable
• unable
• unstable
• able
• chaebol
• fable
• label

Medical Definition

off-label

adjective

off-la·​bel ˌȯf-ˌlā-bəl 

: of, relating to, or being an approved drug legally prescribed or a medical device legally used by a physician for a purpose (as the treatment of children or of a certain disease or condition) for which it has not been specifically approved (as by the United States Food and Drug Administration)

the off-label use of oral contraceptives to treat dysmenorrhea