prescribe

IPA/prɪˈskraɪb/
KK[prəskrˈaɪb]IPA/prɪˈskraɪb/

prescribe — verb

  • prescribepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • prescribeshe / she / it
  • prescribedpast simple
  • prescribing-ing form

1. If a doctor prescribes a medicine or treatment, they decide which one a patient

1.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

If a doctor prescribes a medicine or treatment, they decide which one a patient needs and write an official note that lets the patient get it from a pharmacy.

Example

Dr. Tanaka prescribed antibiotics for Lina's chest infection.

prescribe + medicine + for + somebody

The doctor prescribed Marcus a stronger painkiller after the surgery.

prescribe + somebody + medicine (two objects)

Common collocations
  • prescribe antibiotics
  • prescribe painkillers
  • prescribe medication
  • prescribe a course of treatment
Synonyms
  • order

    more general; in medicine often used for tests or procedures rather than drugs

  • recommend

    softer; suggests an option rather than an authoritative instruction

Grammar Patterns

prescribe + medicine/treatment

prescribe + somebody + medicine

prescribe + medicine + for + somebody

Usage Note

Subject is almost always a doctor, clinic, or hospital. The thing prescribed is a medicine, drug, or specific therapy — not a general piece of advice like 'rest more'.

Common Mistakes

The pharmacist prescribed me cough syrup.
The pharmacist recommended cough syrup; my doctor prescribed it.
only doctors (or licensed prescribers) prescribe; pharmacists dispense.
The doctor prescribed me to take rest.
The doctor told me to rest.
'prescribe' takes a medicine or treatment as object, not a to-infinitive of advice.

2. to officially state, often in a law or set of rules, what someone must do or how

2.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

to officially state, often in a law or set of rules, what someone must do or how something must be done — for example, a school dress code or a law on safety equipment.

Example

The company handbook prescribes how staff should respond to customer complaints.

prescribe + wh-clause (how)

Hong Kong law prescribes that all drivers must carry insurance.

prescribe + that-clause

Common collocations
  • prescribe a procedure
  • prescribe a penalty
  • prescribe by law
  • prescribe a time limit
Synonyms
  • stipulate

    very close in formal contexts; 'stipulate' often appears in contracts and treaties

  • dictate

    stronger and sometimes negative; suggests forcing rather than formally setting

  • lay down

    phrasal and slightly less formal; common with 'rules' or 'the law'

Antonyms
  • permit

    describes what is allowed, not what is required

Grammar Patterns

prescribe + noun

prescribe + that-clause

prescribe + wh-clause

Usage Note

Subject is typically a law, rule, contract, tradition, or institution — almost never an individual person. Frequently passive ('it is prescribed by law that…'). Distinguish from sense 1: the object here is a rule, period, or required action, not a medicine.

Common Mistakes

My boss prescribed me to come early.
My boss told me to come early.' / ✅ 'Company policy prescribes an 8 a.m. start.
for personal instructions use 'tell' or 'order'; 'prescribe' needs a formal rule-making authority.
The law prescribes to wear a helmet.
The law prescribes that riders wear a helmet.
use a that-clause or a noun phrase, not a bare to-infinitive.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe how a doctor decides what a patient should take, but they differ in authority and physical action. 'Prescribe' is the formal medical act of writing an official note that allows a patient to obtain a controlled medicine — only a licensed doctor or nurse practitioner can do it. 'Recommend' is much softer: a doctor might recommend vitamin C or extra sleep, but no signed paper is involved. 'Order' overlaps with 'prescribe' in hospital language, but typically applies to tests, scans, or procedures ('the doctor ordered an MRI') rather than take-home drugs. 'Administer' refers to physically giving the medicine — a nurse administers an injection that the doctor has already prescribed. So a doctor prescribes the antibiotic, the pharmacist dispenses it, and the nurse may administer it.

prescribe ↗recommend ↗order ↗administer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • routinely prescribe
  • commonly prescribed
  • widely prescribed
  • rarely prescribed

Phrases

  • prescribe a course of treatment
  • as prescribed by your doctor
  • prescribe by law

Prepositions

  • prescribe for (a condition / patient)
  • prescribe to (a patient)
  • prescribed by (a doctor / law)

Etymology

LatinMiddle FrenchEnglish

From Latin 'praescribere', built from 'prae-' (before) and 'scribere' (to write) — literally 'to write before' or 'to write at the head of'. In Roman times it meant writing a heading, a notice, or an authoritative direction at the top of a document. English took the word in the 15th century with the 'set down a rule' meaning, and the medical sense of writing a doctor's note for a remedy grew out of that authoritative-writing idea by the 16th century.