Meaning

(pharmacology) Of medicine and other treatments, legal for sale or distribution without the requirement of a prescription..

Definitions by Sense

1. (pharmacology) Of medicine and other treatments, legal for sale or distribution without the requirement of a prescription.
2. (finance) Involving direct interaction between two parties without an intermediary, and denoting any market where items such as stocks or currency are bought and sold by direct arrangement between counterparties, or through a private broker, rather than on a public stock exchange or other exchange.

Example Sentences

over-the-counter drug, over-the-counter medicine

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the oral contraceptive Opill for over-the-counter use, making it the first nonprescription birth control pill in the United States, but it will be months before it’s available.

over-the-counter trade, over-the-counter market

This is "commencement week" in "over-the-counter insurance" circles, the Whitman, Mass., savings bank having opened the ball with four applications made for $300 each by three prominent business men […]

Word Forms

• over the counter

Synonyms for over-the-counter

Related Words

When Should You Use Over-the-counter?

Use over-the-counter when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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