Link Centre Dictionary

poison

poi·son

UK/ˈpoj.zən/ US/ˈpɔɪ.zən/ common informal
verb (5) noun (2)

verb

1.

spoil as if by poison

  • “poison someone”
  • “;”
2.

kill by its poison

  • “This mushrooms can kill”
3.

kill with poison

  • “She poisoned her husband”
4.

add poison to

  • “Her husband poisoned her drink in order to kill her”
Synonyms
5.

administer poison to

  • “She poisoned her husband but he did not die”

noun

1.

any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism

Synonyms
2.

anything that harms or destroys

  • “the poison of fascism”

Origin

From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“to drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native Old English ātor and lybb. See more at atter.

Phrases

  • arrow poison
  • arrow-poison frog
  • berry poison
  • box poison
  • bullock poison
  • bushman poison
  • bushman's poison
  • Champion Bay poison
  • lead poisoning
  • poison the well
  • poisoned chalice
  • radiation poisoning

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.