med ‧ i ‧ ca ‧ tion /ˌmedəˈkeɪʃ ə n, ˌmedɪˈkeɪʃ ə n/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ medical , ↑ medication , ↑ medicine , ↑ medic ; adjective : ↑ medical , ↑ medicated , ↑ medicinal ; adverb : ↑ medically , ↑ medicinally ]
medicine or drugs given to people who are ill
be on medication (for something)
He’s on medication for high blood pressure.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ take medication
Are you taking any medication?
▪ be on medication (=be taking a type of medicine)
He's on medication for his blood pressure.
▪ prescribe medication (=arrange for someone to take a particular type of medicine)
Doctors should always explain the reasons for prescribing any medication.
▪ give medication ( also administer medication formal )
Teachers are not allowed to administer medication.
▪ use medication
The leaflet tells you how to use the medication correctly.
▪ stop a medication (=stop taking a medication)
I stopped the medication when I found out I was pregnant.
▪ come off a medication (=stop taking a medication)
Coming off the medication made him more aggressive.
■ adjectives
▪ over-the-counter medication (=one that you can buy without a doctor's order)
There are many over-the-counter medications available for headaches.
▪ prescribed medication (=one for which you need a doctor's order)
What happens if the patient does not take their prescribed medication?
▪ regular medication (=one that someone takes often)
He is on regular medication to prevent fits.
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THESAURUS
▪ medicine noun [uncountable and countable] a substance used for treating illness:
Certain medicines should not be taken with alcohol.
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Has he taken his medicine?
▪ pill noun [countable] a small piece of medicine that you swallow:
She managed to swallow the pill with a sip of water.
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The doctor gave him some pills.
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sleeping pills
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diet pills
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contraceptive pills
▪ tablet noun [countable] especially British English a small piece of solid medicine:
She's now on four tablets a day.
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a five-day course of tablets
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sleeping tablets
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anti-malaria tablets
▪ antibiotics/aspirin/codeine etc :
The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics.
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Why don’t you take some aspirin?
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The tablets contain codeine, which is unsuitable for people with asthma.
▪ capsule noun [countable] a small tube-shaped container with medicine inside that you swallow whole:
a bottle of 500 capsules of vitamin C
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I advised her to take four to six garlic capsules a day for the duration of the treatment.
▪ caplet noun [countable] a small smooth pill that is slightly longer than it is wide - used especially on bottles and containers:
In small type, the consumer is warned not to take more than one caplet per day.
▪ eye/ear drops liquid medicine that you put into your eye or ear:
Remember — if you 're using eye drops for your hay fever, leave your contact lenses out.
▪ cream noun [uncountable and countable] especially British English ( also lotion especially American English ) a thick smooth substance containing medicine, that you put on your skin:
an antibiotic cream
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antiseptic cream
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skin cream
▪ drug noun [countable] a medicine or a substance for making medicines:
a drug used to treat malaria
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There are a wide range of different drugs on the market.
▪ dosage noun [countable usually singular] the amount of medicine that you should take at one time:
The dosage should be reduced to 0.5 mg.
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It’s important to get the dosage right.
▪ medication noun [uncountable and countable] medicine or drugs given to someone who is ill:
He takes medication for his diabetes.
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She’s on medication (=taking medication) , having suffered from depression for a number of years.