/ drʌg; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
an illegal substance that some people smoke, inject , etc. for the physical and mental effects it has :
He does not smoke or take drugs .
teenagers experimenting with drugs
I found out Steve was on drugs (= regularly used drugs) .
drug and alcohol abuse
a hard (= very harmful) drug such as heroin
a soft drug (= one that is not considered very harmful)
Drugs have been seized with a street value of two million dollars.
She was a drug addict (= could not stop using drugs) .
He was charged with pushing drugs (= selling them) .
( informal )
I don't do drugs (= use them) .
drug rehabilitation
2.
a substance used as a medicine or used in a medicine :
prescribed drugs
The doctor put me on a course of pain-killing drugs.
drug companies
The drug has some bad side effects.
—see also designer drug
■ verb ( -gg- ) [ vn ]
1.
to give a person or an animal a drug, especially to make them unconscious, or to affect their performance in a race or competition :
He was drugged and bundled into the back of the car.
It's illegal to drug horses before a race.
2.
to add a drug to sb's food or drink to make them unconscious or sleepy :
Her drink must have been drugged.
•
IDIOMS
- be drugged up to the eyeballs
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French drogue , possibly from Middle Dutch droge vate , literally dry vats, referring to the contents (i.e. dry goods).