1
a
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
b(1)
: something destructive or harmful
(2)
: an object of aversion or abhorrence
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison
poisoned; poisoning
ˈpȯiz-niŋ 
ˈpȯi-zᵊn-iŋ
1
a
: to injure or kill with poison
b
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with or as if with poison
2
: to exert a baneful influence on : corrupt
poisoned their minds
3
: to inhibit the activity, course, or occurrence of
on the night when he poisoned my rest—
Charles Dickens
Charles DickensSynonyms
Examples of poison in a Sentence
Noun
a jar of rat poison
The killer gave her victims food laced with poison.
suck poison from a snake bite
The villain in the play dies by drinking a vial of poison.
Poverty is a poison to society.
Verb
How did the murderer poison the victim?
Hundreds were poisoned from drinking the contaminated water.
He was poisoned with cyanide.
The factory poisoned the air with its fumes.
Illegal dumping of waste is poisoning the stream and killing fish.
He poisoned their minds with hatred for her.
His angry outburst poisoned the atmosphere of the party.
Adjective
the witch gave Snow White a poison apple
Recent Examples on the WebCnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024
As the poison burns his throat, the god eats bhang to dull its effects.
—Arbab Ali & Nadeem Sarwar, Saveur, 18 Apr. 2024
The poison could possibly enter another cut in your mouth or be swallowed.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
That said, retail customers in many parts of the country can still buy the first-generation poisons, which act more slowly but are just as harmful.
—Lauren Oster, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
If polarization is one of the poisons causing this outbreak, Garland sees the work of a free, independent press as one of the antidotes.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Paul Calle, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s chief veterinarian, told The Washington Post that the virus, the rat poisons and the injuries Flaco suffered after flying into a building might have all contributed to the 13-year-old Eurasian eagle owl’s death.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
As for entertainment, pick your poison: live music, board games, or something off its bookshelf.
—Chyna Blackmon, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2024
The main hotel's afternoon trestles laid with slices of strudel, mortadella, and pecorino sandwiches—complimentary to guests—are taken with treacle thick espressos or Aperols, depending on your poison.
—Jemima Sissons, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Apr. 2024
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
The outlet adds that the boy was between the ages of three and six when he was poisoned, adding that an expert witness said he was admitted to the hospital weighing under 22 lbs.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
So algorithms are primed to poison our conversations.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Xu Yao began poisoning colleagues over business dispute The demotion, paired with a dispute over the running of the busines, is reportedly what motivated Xu to begin poisoning his colleagues three months after the Netflix deal was brokered, according to reports.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Vladimir Kara-Murza, who suffers from a neurological condition after surviving two attempts to poison him, was transferred to a new Siberian penal colony in January and placed in solitary confinement, his wife said.
—Reuters, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Angela Craig's autopsy revealed she had been poisoned.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
Nutmeg High Risks The good news is that few deaths have ever been reported from nutmeg use alone, and nutmeg poisoning itself is quite rare.
—Sarah Cottrell, Parents, 22 Mar. 2024
The court said that Mr. Xu had plotted to poison Mr. Lin and four other people over an office dispute.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Some farmers even intentionally poison cranes to stop them from foraging in their crops.
—National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2020
Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species.
—Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, 25 July 2019
Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy.
—Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
Noun
An owl can pick up a lot of poison eating at least four rodents a night, and many more during breeding season.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024
As the poison burns his throat, the god eats bhang to dull its effects.
—Arbab Ali & Nadeem Sarwar, Saveur, 18 Apr. 2024
The poison could possibly enter another cut in your mouth or be swallowed.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 18 Apr. 2024
That said, retail customers in many parts of the country can still buy the first-generation poisons, which act more slowly but are just as harmful.
—Lauren Oster, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
If polarization is one of the poisons causing this outbreak, Garland sees the work of a free, independent press as one of the antidotes.
—Christopher Kuo, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Paul Calle, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s chief veterinarian, told The Washington Post that the virus, the rat poisons and the injuries Flaco suffered after flying into a building might have all contributed to the 13-year-old Eurasian eagle owl’s death.
—Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
As for entertainment, pick your poison: live music, board games, or something off its bookshelf.
—Chyna Blackmon, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2024
The main hotel's afternoon trestles laid with slices of strudel, mortadella, and pecorino sandwiches—complimentary to guests—are taken with treacle thick espressos or Aperols, depending on your poison.
—Jemima Sissons, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
There are too many consequences to fake disses: The misinformation will further poison a blogosphere already rampant with fake news presented with vague sources.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024
The outlet adds that the boy was between the ages of three and six when he was poisoned, adding that an expert witness said he was admitted to the hospital weighing under 22 lbs.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
So algorithms are primed to poison our conversations.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024
Xu Yao began poisoning colleagues over business dispute The demotion, paired with a dispute over the running of the busines, is reportedly what motivated Xu to begin poisoning his colleagues three months after the Netflix deal was brokered, according to reports.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Vladimir Kara-Murza, who suffers from a neurological condition after surviving two attempts to poison him, was transferred to a new Siberian penal colony in January and placed in solitary confinement, his wife said.
—Reuters, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Angela Craig's autopsy revealed she had been poisoned.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
Nutmeg High Risks The good news is that few deaths have ever been reported from nutmeg use alone, and nutmeg poisoning itself is quite rare.
—Sarah Cottrell, Parents, 22 Mar. 2024
The court said that Mr. Xu had plotted to poison Mr. Lin and four other people over an office dispute.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs.
—National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Some farmers even intentionally poison cranes to stop them from foraging in their crops.
—National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2020
Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species.
—Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, 25 July 2019
Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy.
—Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poison.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near poison
Cite this Entry
“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
poison
1 of 3 noun
poi·son
ˈpȯiz-ən
1
: a substance that by its chemical action can kill or injure a living thing
2
: something destructive or harmful
poison
3 of 3 adjective
: poisonous
a poison plant
Etymology
Noun
Middle English poison "poison, a poisonous drink," from early French poison "drink, potion, poison," from Latin potion-, potio "a drink, potion" — related to potion
Medical Definition
poison
1 of 3 noun
poi·son
ˈpȯiz-ᵊn
1
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison
poison
2 of 3 transitive verb
poisoned; poisoning
ˈpȯiz-niŋ, -ᵊn-iŋ
1
: to injure or kill with poison
2
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with poison
poison
3 of 3 adjective1
: poisonous
a poison plant
2
: impregnated with poison
a poison arrow
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