1
a
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
b(1)
: something destructive or harmful
(2)
: an object of aversion or abhorrence
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison
poisoned; poisoning
ˈpȯiz-niŋ 
ˈpȯi-zᵊn-iŋ
1
a
: to injure or kill with poison
b
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with or as if with poison
2
: to exert a baneful influence on : corrupt
poisoned their minds
3
: to inhibit the activity, course, or occurrence of
on the night when he poisoned my rest—
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Synonyms
Examples of poison in a Sentence
Noun
a jar of rat poison
The killer gave her victims food laced with poison.
suck poison from a snake bite
The villain in the play dies by drinking a vial of poison.
Poverty is a poison to society.
Verb
How did the murderer poison the victim?
Hundreds were poisoned from drinking the contaminated water.
He was poisoned with cyanide.
The factory poisoned the air with its fumes.
Illegal dumping of waste is poisoning the stream and killing fish.
He poisoned their minds with hatred for her.
His angry outburst poisoned the atmosphere of the party.
Adjective
the witch gave Snow White a poison apple
Recent Examples on the WebDavid Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Many poison control calls often involve severe withdrawal symptoms, such as agitation, vomiting and diarrhea, because people typically consume higher doses than those prescribed in other countries, according to a 2018 CDC report.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
Skye Lazaro is an experienced defense attorney familiar with cases involving poison.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
Newsom called fentanyl a poison that does not belong in neighborhoods.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Victims taken to the hospital for treatment should take the mushroom to help identify the poison.
—Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Only a Bene Gesserit can neutralize the poison, which, we are told repeatedly, would kill any man.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Feyd administers poison to Thufir in order to control him, while Kynes dramatically dies in the desert, eaten by a worm.
—Max Evry, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024
Multiple tunnels were constructed on Alderney, and two canisters of Zyklon B — the poison used by the Germans in the gas chambers — were found there, Mr. Roberts said.
—Claire Moses, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Celebrity toxicity is poisoning the entertainment industry with Diddy and Dan Schneider being the latest examples, and Lizzo’s conduct will not be tolerated, either.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 1 Apr. 2024
Just last month, Putin’s foremost civilian rival, Alexei Navalny, turned up dead in the frigid Siberian prison camp to which he’d been consigned after surviving the Kremlin’s attempt to poison him.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2024
Michael Hiltzik: Two Rutgers professors are accused of poisoning the debate over COVID’s origins.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Some plants can poison pets if eaten: autumn crocus, cyclamen, kalanchoe, daffodils and true lilies can be fatal, while others are more benign.
—Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Indigenous people say armed miners threaten them, scare off wild game, and pollute rivers with mercury – poisoning the fish and their drinking water.
—Ana Ionova, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024
People poisoned from eating fish containing the toxin experience unpleasant gastrointestinal, neurological and even cardiac symptoms that typically resolve within a few days, but could last weeks, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024
Trump, meanwhile, has dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric, suggesting migrants are poisoning the blood of Americans.
—Seung Min Kim,colleen Long, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2024
National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Some farmers even intentionally poison cranes to stop them from foraging in their crops.
—National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2020
Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species.
—Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, 25 July 2019
Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy.
—Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
Noun
Sidelined at work, Mr. Xu reportedly exacted vengeance with meticulous planning, including by testing poisons on small animals in a makeshift lab.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Many poison control calls often involve severe withdrawal symptoms, such as agitation, vomiting and diarrhea, because people typically consume higher doses than those prescribed in other countries, according to a 2018 CDC report.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
Skye Lazaro is an experienced defense attorney familiar with cases involving poison.
—Natalie Morales, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2024
Newsom called fentanyl a poison that does not belong in neighborhoods.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Victims taken to the hospital for treatment should take the mushroom to help identify the poison.
—Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Only a Bene Gesserit can neutralize the poison, which, we are told repeatedly, would kill any man.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Feyd administers poison to Thufir in order to control him, while Kynes dramatically dies in the desert, eaten by a worm.
—Max Evry, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024
Multiple tunnels were constructed on Alderney, and two canisters of Zyklon B — the poison used by the Germans in the gas chambers — were found there, Mr. Roberts said.
—Claire Moses, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
The court said that Mr. Xu had plotted to poison Mr. Lin and four other people over an office dispute.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Celebrity toxicity is poisoning the entertainment industry with Diddy and Dan Schneider being the latest examples, and Lizzo’s conduct will not be tolerated, either.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 1 Apr. 2024
Just last month, Putin’s foremost civilian rival, Alexei Navalny, turned up dead in the frigid Siberian prison camp to which he’d been consigned after surviving the Kremlin’s attempt to poison him.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2024
Michael Hiltzik: Two Rutgers professors are accused of poisoning the debate over COVID’s origins.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Some plants can poison pets if eaten: autumn crocus, cyclamen, kalanchoe, daffodils and true lilies can be fatal, while others are more benign.
—Sara Okeefe, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024
Indigenous people say armed miners threaten them, scare off wild game, and pollute rivers with mercury – poisoning the fish and their drinking water.
—Ana Ionova, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024
People poisoned from eating fish containing the toxin experience unpleasant gastrointestinal, neurological and even cardiac symptoms that typically resolve within a few days, but could last weeks, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024
Trump, meanwhile, has dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric, suggesting migrants are poisoning the blood of Americans.
—Seung Min Kim,colleen Long, arkansasonline.com, 27 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs.
—National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Some farmers even intentionally poison cranes to stop them from foraging in their crops.
—National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2020
Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species.
—Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, 25 July 2019
Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy.
—Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poison.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French poisun drink, potion, poison, from Latin potion-, potio drink — more at potion
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of poison was
in the 13th century
Phrases Containing poison
Dictionary Entries Near poison
Cite this Entry
“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poison. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
poison
1 of 3 noun
poi·son
ˈpȯiz-ən
1
: a substance that by its chemical action can kill or injure a living thing
2
: something destructive or harmful
poison
3 of 3 adjective
: poisonous
a poison plant
Etymology
Noun
Middle English poison "poison, a poisonous drink," from early French poison "drink, potion, poison," from Latin potion-, potio "a drink, potion" — related to potion
Medical Definition
poison
1 of 3 noun
poi·son
ˈpȯiz-ᵊn
1
: a substance that through its chemical action usually kills, injures, or impairs an organism
2
: a substance that inhibits the activity of another substance or the course of a reaction or process
a catalyst poison
poison
2 of 3 transitive verb
poisoned; poisoning
ˈpȯiz-niŋ, -ᵊn-iŋ
1
: to injure or kill with poison
2
: to treat, taint, or impregnate with poison
poison
3 of 3 adjective1
: poisonous
a poison plant
2
: impregnated with poison
a poison arrow
More from Merriam-Webster on poison
Nglish: Translation of poison for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of poison for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about poison
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