Definition

1. Noun:
   • A common medication: "aspirin" is a widely used drug that relieves pain, reduces fever, and decreases inflammation. It is also used in low doses to help prevent heart attacks and strokes by thinning the blood.

Usage

• General Use: "Aspirin" is typically taken orally, often in tablet form, to treat minor aches, pains, and fevers.
• Medical Use: In a medical context, doctors may recommend a daily low dose of "aspirin" for its blood-thinning properties to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.

Examples

• Noun:
  • I took an aspirin for my headache.
  • The doctor advised him to take a low-dose aspirin every day for his heart condition.

Advanced Usage

• "To be on aspirin": to be taking aspirin regularly as part of a medical regimen.
  • After his surgery, he was on aspirin for several months.
• "Aspirin therapy": the regular use of aspirin, typically in low doses, to prevent health issues like heart attacks.
  • His physician started him on aspirin therapy.

Variants and Related Words

• Acetylsalicylic acid (n): The chemical name for aspirin.
  • Acetylsalicylic acid is the active ingredient in aspirin.
• Salicylate (n): A broader class of drugs and chemicals related to aspirin.
  • Some people are allergic to salicylates like aspirin.

Synonyms

• Analgesic: A substance that relieves pain.
• Antipyretic: A substance that reduces fever.
• NSAID (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug): A category of drugs that includes aspirin, used to reduce inflammation and pain.

Related Phrases

• Baby aspirin: A term for a low-dose aspirin tablet (often 81 mg), commonly used for cardiovascular protection.
  • She takes a baby aspirin with her breakfast.
• Buffered aspirin: Aspirin formulated with an antacid to reduce stomach irritation.
  • If you have a sensitive stomach, you might try buffered aspirin.

Related Idioms

• A bitter pill to swallow: An idiom meaning an unpleasant fact that must be accepted. While not directly about the drug, it uses the metaphor of taking medicine.
  • Losing the championship was a bitter pill to swallow.

Noun

1. the acetylated derivative of salicylic acid; used as an analgesic anti-inflammatory drug (trade names Bayer, Empirin, and St. Joseph) usually taken in tablet form; used as an antipyretic; slows clotting of the blood by poisoning platelets