pharmacy

The word “pharmacy” means a shop or department where prescription medicines are prepared and sold. In plain terms, either the shop where you get medicine, or the subject of studying how drugs work and are prepared.

“Pharmacy” is pronounced FAH-muh-see (/ˈfɑɹməsi/ in IPA).

Here is “pharmacy” used in a sentence: “I need to stop by the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.”

Words with a similar meaning to “pharmacy” include drugstore, chemist, chemist shop, chemist's, dispensary and chemist's shop.

“Pharmacy” is a noun.

The word “pharmacy” comes from Old French. From Old French pharmacie, based on Greek pharmakeia ("use of drugs"), from pharmakon ("drug, remedy, or poison").

“Pharmacy” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Pharmacy” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a shop or department where prescription medicines are prepared and sold.

A pharmacy is specifically the shop or department where prescription medicines are prepared and dispensed. "Drugstore" is a chiefly American term for a broader retail shop that contains a pharmacy counter but also sells cosmetics, household goods, and other everyday items.

They usually refer to the same thing. "Chemist" or "chemist's" is the common British word for a pharmacy, while "pharmacy" is the standard international and American term for the place where medicines are prepared and sold.

It can mean both. "Pharmacy" names the shop or hospital department where prescription medicines are prepared and sold, and it also names the science and practice of preparing, dispensing, and understanding medicinal drugs.

A dispensary is the point where prepared medicines are handed out, often inside a hospital or clinic. A pharmacy is broader: it both prepares or compounds medicines and sells them, and the word also covers the profession itself.