Longman Dictionary English

Explore Drugs, medicines Topic
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Related topics: Drug culture, Drugs, medicines
drugdrug1 /drʌɡ/ ●●● S2 W1 noun [countable] 1 MDDan illegal substance such as marijuana or cocaine, which some people take in order to feel happy, relaxed, or excited A lot of young people start taking drugs at school. She always looks as though she’s on drugs (=taking drugs). Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose.2 MDa medicine, or a substance for making medicines a drug used in the treatment of cancerdrug for new drugs for AIDS-related conditions Drugs prescribed (=ordered for people) by doctors can be extremely hazardous if used in the wrong way. The big drug companies make huge profits.3 a substance that people doing a sport sometimes take illegally to improve their performance She was banned from the Olympics after failing a drug test (=a test that shows if you have taken drugs).performance-enhancing drugs4 [usually singular] a substance such as tobacco, coffee, or alcohol, that makes you want more and more of it5 → be (like) a drug → miracle drug at miracle(3)COLLOCATIONSverbstake/use drugsI think I took drugs to escape my problems.do drugs informal (=take drugs)All my friends were doing drugs.be on drugs (=take drugs regularly)It can be very hard to tell if your teenager is on drugs.be addicted to drugs/dependent on drugs (=be unable to stop taking drugs)People who are addicted to drugs need help.be/get hooked on drugs informal (=be/get addicted)She got hooked on drugs, and ended up homeless.experiment with drugs (=try taking drugs)She admitted that she had experimented with drugs.come off/get off drugs (=stop taking drugs permanently)It was years before I was able to come off drugs.deal (in) drugs (also supply drugs formal) (=sell drugs)He’s in jail for dealing drugs.inject drugs (=use a needle to put drugs into your body)People who share equipment for injecting drugs are at risk of contracting HIV.be high on drugs (=be experiencing the effects of a drug)He committed the crime while he was high on drugs.drug + NOUNdrug use/abuse (=taking drugs)She is being treated for drug abuse.a drug user (=someone who takes drugs)We set up a counselling service for drug users.drug addiction (=the problem of not being able to stop taking drugs)his struggles with alcoholism and drug addictiona drug addict (=someone who cannot stop taking drugs)At 20 Steve was a drug addict, unemployed and lonely.a drug problem (=the problem of being addicted to drugs)His daughter has a drug problem.a drug overdose (=taking too much of a drug at one time)She died from a drug overdose.a drug dealer/pusher (=someone who sells drugs)The city's streets are full of drug dealers.a drug trafficker/smuggler (=someone involved in bringing drugs into a country)US efforts against drug traffickersdrug trafficking/smuggling (=the crime of bringing drugs into a country)The maximum penalty for drug smuggling was 25 years in jail.the drug tradethe international drug tradethe war on drugs (=a long struggle by the authorities to control drugs)The war on drugs continues.a drug charge (=a legal accusation that someone is guilty of having or selling drugs)He’s awaiting trial on a drug charge.a drug offence (=a crime related to having or selling drugs)Luciani is serving 20 years for drug offences.adjectivesillegal drugsA lot of crime is connected to illegal drugs.hard drugs (also class A drugs British English) (=strong drugs such as heroin, cocaine etc)He was in prison for dealing hard drugs.soft drugs (=less strong drugs such as marijuana)Soft drugs are legal in some countries.recreational drugs (=taken for pleasure)Ecstasy was first used in Britain as a recreational drug in the 1980s.designer drugs (=produced artificially from chemicals)Designer drugs are highly addictive and can have unpredictable side effects.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘light drugs’. Say soft drugs. Instead of ‘heavy drugs’, you usually say hard drugs.
Examples from the Corpus
drug• D.W. had come in over ocean and flown low as a drug smuggler over what might as well be called treetops.• She has been treated for alcohol and drug abuse.• Alcohol and drug misusers may fear approaching statutory agencies for help, especially if they are parents.• Dewey said that legalizing marijuana would encourage people to experiment with hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin.• The agency's efforts to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States has largely failed.• Conclusions - Seroconversion to HIV-1 among intravenous drug misusers is associated with bacterial pneumonia.• The New Jersey drug maker will begin marketing its new anti-balding medication in April.• Back then, because of drugs, I lost everything I had.• In facing the challenge of drug abuse, the media have never been less monolithic.• a new campaign to warn teens about the danger of drugs• The organization tries to deal with the widespread problems of drug addiction and alcoholism.• Morphine is a very powerful drug.• The article says that Ware tried to commit suicide by combining prescription drugs and alcohol.• Despite being a rich drug dealer, he never misses a class.• Thompson was arrested for selling drugs in the fall of 1992.• Four teenagers were arrested for selling drugs.• Seven out of ten teenagers said they had tried soft drugs.• One of the early ones was dinitrophenol, the first synthetic drug used for weight reduction.• A lot of work will have to be done before human beings start taking drugs in dissolving glass.• One disadvantage of the drug is that it is very expensive.• Many researchers think that the drug may help prevent prostate cancer.• The drugs I take for hay fever make me feel very drowsy.on drugs• Look for signs that your child may be on drugs.• Controls on drugs have traditionally been very strict; but regulations governing foods and their additives are extremely liberal.• The other pattern is that the child has psychiatric or psychological problems or is dependent on drugs or alcohol.• They need to focus the national policy on drugs, on stopping it at the source.• This is one example of a task related to an extract from off-air documentary material within a unit on drugs.• This Marine and his unit were on duty on a peaceful border as part of the War on Drugs.• Finally, a reason to vote for Bob Dole: He will call off the war on drugs.• Police believe many of the ravers were on drugs.drug companies• He also called for the establishment of partnerships between governments and drug companies to conduct research.• The multinational drug companies are often exploiting that knowledge in their constant search for new and more profitable drugs.• This has turned drug regulators into unwitting protectors of drug companies.• About the profits that drug companies make from this advertising.• Behind the drug companies' interest in pet medicines is a world-wide market currently estimated at more than $ 1 billion.• Fears On the other hand what is holding the Index back is the drug companies.• And what of the drug companies?• Several members of the two committees have links with drug companies manufacturing meningitis vaccines.performance-enhancing drugs• Seven of the 12 winners tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Related topics: Drugs, medicines
drugdrug2 verb (drugged, drugging) [transitive] 1 MDto give a person or animal a drug, especially in order to make them feel tired or go to sleep, or to make them perform well in a race Johnson drugged and attacked four women. There was no evidence that the horse had been drugged.2 MDHARM/BE BAD FORto put drugs in someone’s food or drink in order to make them feel tired or go to sleep SYN spike The wine had been drugged.3 → be drugged up to the eyeballs —drugged adjective→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
drug• We can't all be permanently drugged.• Collins says she was drugged and then raped on their first date.From Longman Business Dictionarydrugdrug /drʌg/ noun [countable]1a medicine or substance for making medicinesSYNPHARMACEUTICALa drug used in the treatment of cancera drugs company → over-the-counter drug → prescription drug2an illegal substance that people take to make them feel happy or excitedThe business was secretly laundering drug money.Origin drug1 (1300-1400) Old French drogue
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