cap ‧ let /kæplət, kæplɪt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: capsule + tablet ]
a small smooth ↑ pill (=solid piece of medicine) with a shape that is slightly longer and narrower than a ↑ tablet (=a small round pill)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ medicine noun [uncountable and countable] a substance used for treating illness:
Certain medicines should not be taken with alcohol.
|
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.
|
The doctor gave him some pills.
|
sleeping pills
|
diet pills
|
contraceptive pills
▪ tablet noun [countable] especially British English a small piece of solid medicine:
She's now on four tablets a day.
|
a five-day course of tablets
|
sleeping tablets
|
anti-malaria tablets
▪ antibiotics/aspirin/codeine etc :
The doctor put him on a course of antibiotics.
|
Why don’t you take some aspirin?
|
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
|
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
|
antiseptic cream
|
skin cream
▪ drug noun [countable] a medicine or a substance for making medicines:
a drug used to treat malaria
|
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.
|
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.
|
She’s on medication (=taking medication) , having suffered from depression for a number of years.