Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

over-the-counter

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.55 in modern English

Syllables: over-the--counter
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

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

adj

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 […]"

Etymology

An attributive form of over the counter.

Inflected Forms

over the counter (alternative)

Phrases

non-over-the-counter

Synonyms

OTC nonprescription

Questions

What does over-the-counter mean?: Of medicine and other treatments, legal for sale or distribution without the requirement of a prescription.
Where does over-the-counter come from?: An attributive form of over the counter.

How to pronounce over-the-counter

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