prescription
part of speech
noun (a prescription, prescriptions)
meaning for a pupil
1) (health) A prescription is a note from a doctor (GP) saying which medicine a patient needs, which you take to a chemist or pharmacy to get it. tree →
2) The medicine itself, given on a doctor's order, can be called a prescription. tree →
3) (formal) A prescription is a firm rule or piece of advice about what should be done. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life, after seeing the GP you may pick up a prescription at the pharmacy; some medicines need a prescription and some can be bought freely. Glasses need a prescription from an optician. In safety lessons pupils learn never to take someone else's prescription medicine. Phrases: write a prescription, fill a prescription (US), on prescription, prescription glasses, repeat prescription.
examples
- The doctor wrote me a prescription for ear drops. tree →
- Mum took the prescription to the chemist. tree →
- These tablets are only available on prescription. tree →
- Grandpa has a repeat prescription every month. tree →
- Never take medicine from someone else's prescription. tree →
- My new prescription glasses make the board clear. tree →
note
Countable. Verb prescribe (prescribed). Trap: prescribe (a doctor orders) vs proscribe (to ban). Do not confuse with "subscription" (paying regularly for a magazine or app).
In the corpora
- A repeat prescription is for medicine someone takes regularly, so they do not need to see the doctor every time.
- In England prescriptions are free for children under 16, and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland they are free for everyone.
- Children's prescriptions often change as they grow, so regular eye tests matter.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «prescription» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.