Definition

1. Noun:
   • A retail establishment where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold: A "pharmacy" is a store, often part of a larger business like a supermarket or operating independently, where licensed pharmacists prepare, dispense, and sell prescription medications and other health-related products.
   • The science and practice of preparing and dispensing medicinal drugs: "Pharmacy" also refers to the professional field, art, and science concerned with the discovery, development, production, and proper use of drugs and medicines.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Retail Shop):
  • I need to stop by the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.
  • The new pharmacy on Main Street also sells vitamins and first-aid supplies.
• Noun (Science/Profession):
  • She studied pharmacy at university and is now a licensed pharmacist.
  • Advances in pharmacy have led to more effective treatments for many diseases.

Advanced Usage

• "Hospital pharmacy": A department within a hospital responsible for preparing and dispensing medications to inpatients.
  • The hospital pharmacy operates 24 hours a day to meet patient needs.
• "Pharmacy practice": The professional activities and services performed by pharmacists.
  • His research focuses on improving community pharmacy practice.

Variants and Related Words

• Pharmacist (n): A healthcare professional licensed to prepare, dispense, and provide advice on medications.
  • The pharmacist explained the potential side effects of the new medicine.
• Pharmaceutical (adj): Relating to medicinal drugs, or their preparation, use, or sale. (n): A medicinal drug manufactured for sale.
  • The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated.
  • This company develops new pharmaceuticals.

Synonyms

• Drugstore (n): A retail shop where medicines and other items are sold (common in American English).
• Chemist (n): A shop where medicinal drugs are dispensed and sold (common in British English).
• Apothecary (n): An archaic term for a person who prepared and sold medicines; sometimes used for a pharmacy with a historical aesthetic.

Related Phrases

• "Pharmacy technician": A person who works under the supervision of a pharmacist to help prepare and dispense medications.
  • She works as a pharmacy technician while completing her degree.
• "Compounding pharmacy": A pharmacy that specializes in preparing customized medications for individual patients.
  • The doctor sent the special cream recipe to a compounding pharmacy.

Noun

1. a retail shop where medicine and other articles are sold
2. the art and science of preparing and dispensing drugs and medicines,