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Showing results for stimulant. Search instead for stimulant+drug.
Synonyms

stimulant

American  
[stim-yuh-luhnt] / ˈstɪm yə lənt /

noun

  1. Physiology, Medicine/Medical. something that temporarily quickens some vital process or the functional activity of some organ or part.

    Adrenalin is a stimulant for the heart.

  2. any food or beverage that stimulates, especially coffee, tea, or, in its initial effect, alcoholic liquor.

  3. a stimulus or incentive.

adjective

  1. Physiology, Medicine/Medical. temporarily quickening some vital process or functional activity.

  2. stimulating.

stimulant British  
/ ˈstɪmjʊlənt /

noun

  1. a drug or similar substance that increases physiological activity, esp of a particular organ

  2. any stimulating agent or thing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. increasing physiological activity; stimulating

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
stimulant Scientific  
/ stĭm′yə-lənt /

  1. An agent, especially a drug, that causes increased activity, especially of the nervous or cardiovascular systems. Caffeine is a commonly used stimulant.

Other Word Forms

  • antistimulant adjective
  • nonstimulant noun

Etymology

Origin of stimulant

First recorded in 1720–30, stimulant is from the Latin word stimulant- (stem of stimulāns, present participle of stimulāre to goad). See stimulus, -ant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For decades, stimulant medications have been thought to work by directly influencing brain regions responsible for attention.

From Science Daily • Dec. 29, 2025

Of these, about 22,000 hectares are legal -- grown to be chewed as a stimulant, brewed into a tea thought to combat altitude sickness or used in religious rituals.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

“When a young person shows up with anxiety after starting a stimulant, that doesn’t mean that they have an anxiety disorder,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

So, Gomez sent them home with an antibiotic and an appetite stimulant.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2025

I was very tired, but sometimes fatigue can be a stimulant and a compulsion.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.