pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

plural pharmacies

1

: the art, practice, or profession of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing medical drugs

2

a

: a place where medicines are compounded or dispensed

b

: drugstore

3

: pharmacopoeia sense 2

Synonyms

• apothecary
• drugstore

Examples of pharmacy in a Sentence

There's a pharmacy in our grocery store now.

She's studying pharmacy at the university.

Recent Examples on the Web

Profit-hungry pharmacy benefit managers are squeezing its core prescription drug business, as this page recently chronicled. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 15 Dec. 2024

The bill would allow a subset of U.S. physicians — only around 7,000, including ones already working at methadone clinics — to prescribe methadone that could be picked up at regular pharmacies. —Dan Primack, Axios, 13 Dec. 2024

House Republicans want to know whether pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) CVS Caremark violated federal antitrust laws by threatening independent pharmacies to keep them from using money-saving tools outside the PBM’s network. —Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2024

More than 500,000 units have been sold and ordered after it was launched earlier this year in Israel and the UK and made available for home testing via major pharmacy chains. —Gil Press, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin pharmacia administration of drugs, from Greek pharmakeia, from pharmakeuein to administer drugs, from pharmakon magic charm, poison, drug

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

plural pharmacies

1

: the art, practice, or profession of preparing drugs according to a doctor's prescription

2

a

: a place where medicines are made or distributed

b

: drugstore

Medical Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·​ma·​cy ˈfär-mə-sē 

plural pharmacies

1

: the art, practice, or profession of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing medical drugs

2

a

: a place where medicines are compounded or dispensed

a hospital pharmacy

b

: drugstore

3

: pharmacopoeia sense 2