dispensary

IPA/dɪˈspensəri/
KK[dɪspˈɛnsɚi]IPA/dɪˈspensəri/

dispensary — noun

  • dispensarysingular
  • dispensariesplural

1. a room or counter inside a hospital, clinic, or similar place where a trained pe

1.nounB2
Definition

a room or counter inside a hospital, clinic, or similar place where a trained person prepares medicines and hands them out to patients

Example

Hana waited at the hospital dispensary to collect her mother's pain medicine.

collocation: hospital dispensary

The dispensary on the ground floor opens at eight every morning.

Common collocations
  • hospital dispensary
  • clinic dispensary
  • dispensary counter
  • dispensary staff
  • go to the dispensary for
Synonyms
  • pharmacy

    pharmacy is broader — it can refer to a hospital department or a standalone shop; dispensary almost always implies a place within a larger institution

  • chemist

    British term for a retail pharmacy; less likely to be used for a hospital dispensary

  • drugstore

    American term for a shop selling medicines alongside other goods; a drugstore is always a retail business, not a hospital facility

Usage Note

A dispensary is usually part of a larger institution such as a hospital or clinic. For a standalone shop selling medicines, pharmacy, chemist, or drugstore are more common terms in everyday English.

Common Mistakes

I bought aspirin at the dispensary on the high street.
I bought aspirin at the pharmacy on the high street.
A dispensary is nearly always inside a hospital or clinic, not a standalone retail shop.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A dispensary is a place within a hospital or clinic where medicines are prepared and handed to patients — it is not a retail shop. A pharmacy can be either a hospital department or a high-street shop, making it the most general term. In British English, chemist refers specifically to a retail pharmacy where you can also buy toiletries and everyday items. The American equivalent, drugstore, is a shop selling medicines alongside cosmetics, snacks, and household goods. A clinic, by contrast, is where patients see a doctor or nurse for treatment, not a place that mainly handles medicines. So if you visit a hospital, you might see a doctor at the clinic and then pick up your prescription at the dispensary — but you would buy aspirin at the pharmacy or chemist on the way home.

pharmacy ↗chemist ↗drugstore ↗clinic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dispensary counter
  • dispensary staff
  • dispensary hours

Phrases

  • hospital dispensary
  • clinic dispensary
  • go to the dispensary for

Prepositions

  • at the dispensary
  • to the dispensary
  • from the dispensary

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinEnglish

The word dispensary entered English in the 17th century from the Medieval Latin dispensarium, meaning a storeroom or a place where things are weighed out and distributed. This in turn comes from the Latin verb dispensare, 'to weigh out, distribute, or manage.' The same Latin root gives us dispense and indispensable. Originally, a dispensary was a place where medicines were prepared and given to the poor free of charge, a sense that has narrowed over time to refer to any in-house facility for preparing and handing out medicines.