- a medicine protected by a patent and available without a doctor's prescription
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pat′ent med′icine,
- Drugsa medicine sold without a prescription in drugstores or by sales representatives, and usually protected by a trademark.
- Drugsa medicine distributed by a company having a patent on its manufacture.
- 1760–70
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
patent medicine n
'patent medicine' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):