pharmacy

noun

phar·ma·cy ˈfär-mə-sē

plural pharmacies

Synonyms of pharmacy

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

: a place where medicines are compounded or dispensed

: drugstore

: pharmacopoeia sense 2

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

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.

The situation is particularly acute in the central province of Ciego de Ávila, where authorities recently acknowledged that state pharmacies had only about 10% of the medicines on the basic list. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026 Waits unfurls a sad story over the course of the song, dropping details about an unnamed woman in red shoes who’s standing by the newsstand outside a pharmacy on a cold, rainy night. — Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2026 Contract pharmacies grew from roughly 1,300 in 2010 to more than 31,000 by mid-2026, dominated by the largest chains. — Casey B. Mulligan, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026 The same medication would cost roughly $1,017 from Amazon’s pharmacy arm or $1,029 from GoodRx. — Fatima Hussein, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pharmacy

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of pharmacy was in 1651

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pharmacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharmacy. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·ma·cy ˈfär-mə-sē

plural pharmacies

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

: a place where medicines are made or distributed

: drugstore

Medical Definition

pharmacy

noun

phar·ma·cy ˈfär-mə-sē

plural pharmacies

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

: a place where medicines are compounded or dispensed

a hospital pharmacy

: drugstore

: pharmacopoeia sense 2

pharmacy

noun

Synonyms of pharmacy

Examples of pharmacy in a Sentence

Word History

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Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

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