performance-enhancing drug

noun

: a substance (such as an anabolic steroid, human growth hormone, or erythropoietin) that is used illicitly to improve athletic performance

In the United States, more than 1 million elite and recreational athletes use performance-enhancing drugs for muscle building purposes.

—Josiah D. Rich et al.

…33 of the 48 major and minor league players suspended by baseball for using performance-enhancing drugs since the start of 2006 were pitchers.

—Sean Gregory

Roger Bannister, the first person to run a subpar four-minute mile, said today he thought that increased use of blood testing could help curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs by track and field athletes.

—The New York Times

—abbreviation PED

Examples of performance-enhancing drug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Zhang Yufei, center, was one of 23 top Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug months before the Tokyo Olympic Games. —Tariq Panja, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024

Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs were flooding sports and there wasn’t much of a way to stop them. —Les Carpenter, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024

Nicotine is the latest performance-enhancing drug for grueling jobs in tech and finance The federal government has regulatory options unavailable to local jurisdictions and states. —Jethroe Moore Ii, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024

But his reputation and career took a debilitating hit when the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) falsely accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs, costing him the 1992 Olympic Games. —Addie Morfoot, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024

Does his suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs affect the team’s desire to bring him back? 35. —The Indianapolis Star, 10 Jan. 2024

His connection to baseball’s performance-enhancing drugs scandal, including a positive steroid test his final year, has kept him out of Cooperstown, despite Hall of Fame-caliber numbers. —Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2024

Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramírez again lagged, hurt by suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs. —Ronald Blum, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2024

Nose tackle Grover Stewart was out six games due to a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. —The Indianapolis Star, 10 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above