What does drugstore mean?
A drugstore is a retail shop, chiefly found in the United States and Canada, that combines a licensed pharmacy — where prescriptions are filled by a pharmacist — with the sale of a broad range of everyday merchandise such as cosmetics, toiletries, over-the-counter remedies, snacks, and greeting cards. The word is essentially North American: British English uses 'chemist' or 'the chemist's', while 'pharmacy' serves as the neutral international term. Drugstores range from large national chains to small independent shops on street corners, and in popular imagination they carry a nostalgic glow, recalling the mid-century American drugstore with its soda fountain and magazine racks. Informally, 'drugstore' can function adjectivally to mean cheap or mass-market, as in 'drugstore perfume'. For learners of English, the word is useful precisely because it signals an American context and a specific kind of one-stop shop that has no exact equivalent elsewhere.
nounA retail shop, especially in North America, where prescription medicines are dispensed and where cosmetics, toiletries, snacks, and other household goods are sold.
- A retail shop in North America that dispenses prescription medicines and also sells cosmetics, toiletries, confectionery, and other everyday goods.
"She stopped at the drugstore on her way home to pick up a prescription and some aspirin."
"He picked up his medication at the corner drugstore every month without fail."
"In small American towns, the old-fashioned drugstore with its soda fountain was once a social hub for teenagers."
Standard regular plural; used when referring to multiple establishments, e.g. chains operating many locations.
"The company operates over two thousand drugstores across the country."
The word 'drugstore cowboy' originally meant a man who loitered around drugstores trying to pick up women — before it came to describe a pretend rodeo rider.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drugstore
Drugstore is a compound of 'drug', meaning medicine or medicinal substance, and 'store', meaning shop. The element 'drug' traces back through Middle English 'drogge' of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Old French or medieval Latin 'droga'. The compound arose in 19th-century America, when pharmacists began expanding their shops into general retailers. It shares its root simply with the word 'drug' itself rather than with any classical cognate.
How drugstore is actually used
The term is distinctly North American; British speakers say 'chemist' or 'the chemist's', and 'pharmacy' is the neutral international term. 'Drugstore' often carries a slightly nostalgic or informal connotation, evoking mid-20th-century American main streets and soda fountains. The adjective use as in 'drugstore perfume' (cheap, mass-market) is informal and sometimes mildly derogatory.
Easily confused with drugstore
A pharmacy specifically refers to the part of a store or establishment where medicines are prepared and dispensed, while a drugstore is the whole retail shop that typically includes a pharmacy counter plus general merchandise.