Prescription

Alternative forms

• præscription archaic

Full definition of prescription

Noun

1. (legal) The act of prescribing a rule, law, etc.."Jurisdiction to prescribe" is a state's authority to make its laws applicable to certain persons or activities. -- Richard G. Alexander, Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996: Congress exceeds its jurisdiction to prescribe law. Washington and Lee Law Review, 1997.
2. (legal) A period of time within which a right must be exercised, unless the right is extinguished.The prescription governing the victim’s right to enter a charge shall be interrupted by virtue of section 95 of the Criminal Code.
3. (medicine) A written order, as by a physician or nurse practitioner, for the administration of a medicine or other intervention. See also scrip.The surgeon wrote a prescription for a pain killer and physical therapy.
4. (medicine) The prescription medicine or intervention so prescribed.The pharmacist gave her a bottle containing her prescription.
5. (ophthalmology) The formal description of the lens geometry needed for spectacles, etc..The optician followed the optometrist's prescription for her new eyeglasses.
6. A piece of advice."Early to bed and early to rise" is a prescription for a healthy lifestyle.

Adjective

1. (of a drug, etc.) only available with a physician or nurse practitioner's written prescriptionMany powerful pain killers are prescription drugs in the U.S.